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December 31, 2007

holiday in review

pre-christmas: the crappiest time of the year!

i dread christmas. i can't even muster a rational reason anymore; i just dread it. the weeks preceding the holiday were heavily scheduled for me, and not with fun things. i can maintain a tight schedule when i have to, but after a week or so it really eats at me. selling and buying cars around this time was part of the problem, a big part, actually. i wouldn't do that again.

christmas day: not actually traumatic

despite it being the last christmas our family will ever have in the house we've owned since it was built in 1948, the day itself was okay. mom is good at keeping things light and i enjoy the company of my family.

the only really bad part was that gran had a stroke on christmas eve and wound up in the hospital. i visited her in the evening and given her age (98) i wouldn't be surprised if this is the beginning of the end. i haven't gotten an update since then so i assume she's still with us and hopefully they've moved her into the full time care facility at her retirement home. she was awake and talking a blue streak when i saw her (although because of the stroke, only about a third of it was comprehensible, and most of it seemed to be her obsessing about her pills) so there probably wasn't much more point in her being in a hospital. she's DNR and just needs pallative care, not a bunch of tests and stuff.

bless you my child

although i am not all about the christmas booty, i did get some nice things for which i am grateful. notably, the twins gave me a heavily loaded gift card to everyone's favorite latte-serving mega-chain. i admit it; i have a real fondness for the place. i'll be making very good use of that for some time to come.

j's mom gave me a nice surprise: a gift card to everyone's favorite book-selling mega-chain. the moment we got to virginia i dragged J out to buy books (and coffee), and got the aforementioned 'ominivore's dilemma', and the new william gibson book which i have been dying to read since it came out a few months ago. in an attempt to be frugal, i had added it to my christmas wishlist-- but didn't get it.

there was also a great deal of chocolate and such things, and perhaps a few nice pieces of jewelry from someone. no, not a ring.

the nicest thing though was having J around for the entire time and for the first time in my adult life, not spending most of the holiday alone in town taking care of everyone else's cats.

such stuff as dreams

we spent most of the time in Va sleeping (yes, really sleeping), talking, reading, and thinking, with occasional bouts of eating. of the half dozen movies we wanted to see, we saw exactly one, and i've already spoken of it here. (tangentially, despite the fact that there will be no glendale ave oscars party for me to attend, i feel a compulsion to watch a lot of oscar nominated movies. so much so that i scoped out the ticket prices of all the local theaters.)

and we're home

mo and i drove home today in the blue beetle, which has performed admirably, getting 49mpg on our first tank together.

mo seems to be none the worse for wear. he enjoys our time in Va, now, so I'm not surprised.

new year

oh, i might have an internal resolution or two, but i'm keeping them to myself. i do find myself making plans, however: thinking about the farmer's market and investigating local farmers; marshaling the to-do list for the house with new energy; thinking, once again, about the poor old van.

Posted by lisa at 07:07 PM

December 30, 2007

and another chocolate covered strawberry to top it off

ending winter vacation with J in Va by going to Chain Fondue Restaurant and becoming very, very full.

the wine i had kind of sucked and everything else was decadent and wonderful. now we are groaning in our separate areas, J downstairs with the puppy and probably an episode of babylon 5; me upstairs with the kitty and the internets.

spending winter vacation with J is far superior to spending it alone in durham with everyone out of town.

i have been devouring 'the omnivore's dilemma', and the resulting thoughts and conversations have been interesting. nothing in the book really shocks me. it has been interesting to remember why i already know a little about the realities of industrial farming. it makes me want to grow more of my own food, although i'm sure that idea will be short-lived.

man, i am full.

Posted by lisa at 11:35 PM

December 28, 2007

quit yelling, lady

we saw the golden compass tonight. it was disappointing and a little boring. the best part is the bear. the characters aren't well developed and new ones spring up abruptly, spouting extremely implausible, difficult to remember names. the witches were way too ren-faire.

otherwise, things in virginia are pleasant and a nice change from the stress just prior to and on christmas day.

after the movie was over, this very tall woman in the row in front of us stood up and started loudly berating her husband for not having an imagination.

Posted by lisa at 11:59 PM

December 25, 2007

newer and blue-er

we went to SC sunday and picked up my new blue bug from this guy:

Inky moves to NC

a few of you know him.

it's a 2001 diesel bug with 100k miles, which is 70k less than spacepod. it's also been meticulously cared for, because that's how dan is.

right now there are three bugs in front of my house. it'll be friday before the money for the convertible comes through.

admittedly, it's not that exciting to drive another diesel bug. it's cute, and it has a couple of luxuries that spacepod doesn't, but mostly it's inexpensive, reliable transportation.

Posted by lisa at 11:40 AM

December 21, 2007

In the "whew" department...

Mo's PCV (red blood cell count) is up 5% over last week, to 25%. Target is around 35%. so that means the Epo is still effective, and that's a big relief.

I'll be administering his next two Epo shots myself over the holiday, but it shouldn't be a big deal because it's done the same as insulin, and Dr. C already prepared the syringes for me.

We'll be in Va for an extended period over the break and he always has a fine time up there, plus he's obviously feeling more energetic this week, so he'll be SuperHappyKitty, which will be great.

Posted by lisa at 12:20 PM

December 17, 2007

yay!

she said the top looks fine-- unless i get a curveball i think i'll be selling the car for the full asking price. sweet!

Posted by lisa at 06:21 PM

tenterhooks.

just got the 'vert back from the detailer. top looks a lot better but it's far from showroom perfect-- as the detailer predicted.

i think the high bidder isn't going to want it-- but i'm on tenterhooks waiting to find out.

after all the dragging on, i'll be oh so excited to actually wrap up this sale.

Posted by lisa at 03:32 PM

December 16, 2007

digging up graveyards in trinity park

okay, graveyard, singular. but still! what kind of people DO this?

i mean yeah, i hate to see old houses torn down and it's a shame. but to throw aside 100 year old grave markers like they're junk? that's a whole other... jeez.

Posted by lisa at 06:31 PM

Heroes, Season 2 -- too bad.

Dear large stupid television network,

if you're going to yank Heroes from iTunes, only provide downloads of the current season to Windoze/IE users, and also not rerun the current season during the writer's strike (just give the writers a reasonable royalty already, OKAY?), then you realize you're shooting yourself in the foot, right?? Heroes is so intensely plot-driven that I'm really loathe to start watching season 2 in the middle, if and when it ever starts airing again after the strike.

It's 2007 and there's no reason it should be this difficult for me to catch up on the current season of a major network TV show.

smooches,
lisa

Posted by lisa at 06:18 PM

operation AVOID CAROLERS

must stay this way until 7:30 or until i hear them pass by, being all merry and stuff.

just call me grinchy mcgrincherson.

Posted by lisa at 05:58 PM

rain!

RDU reports nearly an inch of rain yesterday, and it's still raining a little this morning. It won't fix the drought but it will probably help a little.

My allpods domain renewal went through yesterday, FINALLY, so that means that comments are now working on my regular blog.

Posted by lisa at 09:55 AM

December 15, 2007

effort.

I'm just not that into it.

Posted by lisa at 06:21 PM

December 14, 2007

the most fun day ever.

so, moses' red blood cell count went down another two percentage points this week. they gave him an extra large dose. i lectured him on the importance of making some new RBC's. in all seriousness, though, i'm not feeling very hopeful. the anemia might be what gets him in the end, and that might be a matter of weeks at this point. i don't really know what happens after the Epo stops working. I mean, i have an idea of the exact ways in which anemia might kill him, I just don't know what treatment options will be available or at what point the vet will recommend euthanasia.

my efforts with the convertible roof last night resulted in white patches where i used the mr. clean magic sponge. i scrubbed it down again this morning and rinsed it well, but i thought i could see the white patches emerging again as it dried. fsck. i'll try taking it to a detailer this weekend. this is all SUCH A F-ING PAIN. i just want to sell the car and be done with it.

i went down to the tag office today to get the new car registered and, of course, line out the door. i'll go back next week at a weirder time of day.

so i stopped into a large retailer and, of course, yet more reasons to hate this time of year-- buying things for myself and not finding the presents i want for other people (okay, i can control that, but the temptation level is increased a thousandfold), and standing in line with F-ING MORONS. excuse me, "morans". heh heh. thanks, laurahcory for that one.

lady in front of me scolds toddler for running off in the most dulcet of babyvoice tones. think that kid's going to get the message? uh, no, and guess what? she runs off again. woman BEHIND ME says, "don't worry, we'll hold your place in line while you go get her." OH WE WILL, WILL WE? THANKS FOR CONSULTING WITH ME ON THAT EXECUTIVE DECISION YOU JUST MADE THERE, SPARKY.

happy holidays, y'all! uuuggggghhhhhhhh.

Posted by lisa at 01:18 PM

December 13, 2007

shoedorphins

i developed a theory just now that shoe purchases give me endorphins (briefly). maybe i would be less affected by the short days if i were buying shoes.

this is not to say that i'm going to go buy any shoes. i also thought that eating more spicy food might have a similar effect, while costing less and not adding to unnecessary clutter.

Posted by lisa at 08:06 PM

slow.

seems like everything is moving so slowly.

i worked on the convertible roof tonight with two different things. first i tried 303 convertible top cleaner which seemed to knock it back a little (difficult to tell while it's still wet) but i could tell there was still a stain there even after a lot of scrubbing.

then i tried my mr. clean magic sponge and that really seemed to have an effect. it didn't get 100% of the stain but i'm pretty sure it made a noticeable dent. so it's a matter of whether this buyer is okay with a 90% improvement or if that's not going to be good enough.

i also took it to a detail shop today and they basically told me the same thing-- they could probably make a big improvement but they can't get it back to showroom perfect.

:|:

i myself seem to be moving particularly slowly today. it's weird, it's almost like being sick except that i have no other symptoms. i'm just really tired and not energetic.

:|:

i finally worked up enough enthusiasm to put lights on my xmas tree, although not ornaments. the lights are my favorite part, anyway.

i haven't bought a single present and don't even really know what i'm going to give most of the people on my list. guess i'll work on that this weekend, if it's not fully occupied with removing stains from the damn convertible roof. buy stock in the mr. clean corporation now, cause i might be buying a case of those awesome little suckers.

:|:

oh, and i procrastinated on renewing the allpods domain and now it's dead. i'm in a weird limbo where i can't tell if my renewal went through, my registrar hasn't answered my support email, and the domain isn't working... which means that comments on my blog aren't working. i can't find where in moveable type i defined allpods as the cgi url so i can't change it to a working url. i'm not too worried about the domain being stolen because, you know, who's going to want THAT domain? i'm just annoyed (at myself, mainly) at the down time.

Posted by lisa at 07:21 PM

December 12, 2007

don't scare me like that!

earlier this evening i looked over at moses and i thought he was dead. i mean, i really thought this was it, from the way he was laying there. he'd just up and died while right next to me, and i hadn't even noticed.

i yelled his name and his eyes flew open and his head popped up, and he was all like, "huh? what? eh?"

he was just sleepin' extra hard. i think because his dinner was delayed and then he had an extra large meal.

he's doing just fine these days. i really could swear his ears and nose look like a reasonable pink color and i hope his anemia is turning back around again. we'll find out friday.

Posted by lisa at 10:01 PM

that was a long drive.

i drove to south carolina today and bought a car, and then i drove back.

they really have a lot of church down there.

the car will be coming to live with me in a couple of weeks. i'll tell you all about her then.

Posted by lisa at 08:21 PM

December 11, 2007

tree-enabled

yearly sojurn to the trosa tree lot (the ladies lot, of course) complete. really not in the mood to decorate. maybe tomorrow night.

smells good in here tho.

Posted by lisa at 11:12 PM

December 10, 2007

bidness

this week i shall

Posted by lisa at 10:17 PM

December 09, 2007

Happy cat in Va

It seems that moses has reached a point where he's really happy at J's house. He's even comfortable being downstairs and likes to position himself at the nexus of everything (the hallway), then give us eye-squeezies while we make breakfast.

This morning while we were all hanging out upstairs, moses walked right over to Reese and started sniffing him. He never growls at Reese any more, and only scolds him when he thinks reese might be trying to get his food.

His ears and nose still look pale to me-- not the palest I've ever seen them, so hopefully the epo is at least helping him maintain-- but I would so much rather see them nice and pink. J also commented that he looked a little thinner than he did over thanksgiving. On the other hand, his coat has improved a great deal since we started the potassium and he's still pretty plump. so most of the time, he still seems like a nice soft kitty.

anyway, he's having a good time still so all is good. i think i'm going to put up a christmas tree this week so that should make life a little more interesting for him at home.

In other good news, I have a buyer for the convertible! She is offering me less than asking price but still significantly more than I'd get at carmax, and as a bonus she really seems to love the car and not be bothered at all by the cosmetic issues. i'm holding out until Monday to see if the other person offers me a higher price, but in my gut i think she had too many uncertainties about the car and i don't think she'll want it.

Posted by lisa at 01:58 PM

December 08, 2007

Port Warwick

Port Warwick is a planned mixed-use community in Newport News. We often take the dog walking back there. I'm completely fascinated with the place. Much of the planning seems to be taken from the pages of Christopher Alexander's "A Pattern Language"; however the result is a place that's nice to visit but I don't think I'd actually want to live there.

Green spaces

There are green public spaces with seating every two blocks or so. The sidewalks are wide and uninterrupted. The streets are narrow and the sparse traffic is slow. All driveways are at the back, away from the green spaces. Many houses have sitting porches; not all have chairs.

Meet me at Herman Melville and Eugene O'Neill

The streets are all named after authors.

Good sidewalks.

The houses all look pretty much the same. There are subtle differences if you really look closely, but it all pretty much screams "Homeowners Association".

Main square

The residential areas connect to a main green square that I think looks exactly like a college campus.

Modern apartments

There are shops and restaurants at street level around the main square. We ate at this thai restaurant tonight; it was quite tasty.

Posted by lisa at 10:01 PM

December 06, 2007

guardedly hopeful...

so today at work i was contacted by a second person who is interested in the convertible. she looked at it today.

first words out of her mouth when she saw it? "It's SO CUUUUUUTE!"

yeaaaaahhhhhhhh, that's what we like to hear.

i can tell that she really likes it, wants it, but the cosmetic issues and manual transmission might bother her too much. but she knows the price is really good.

tomorrow someone else looks at it and... we'll see. if i sell it in a private sale for close to what i am asking, it'll be a silver bullet that will kill off all of my credit card debt and i'll be taking my boyfriend out for a deeelicious fancy dinner somewhere, diet be damned.

speaking of fancy, moses officially loves his new bed. he spends like 20 hours a day on it.

Posted by lisa at 06:38 PM

December 05, 2007

mo and other updates

mo had a checkup today. his red blood cell count keeps decreasing so we're ramping up the epogen doses again. it's possible that he's developed antibodies to the epogen and it will no longer be effective. BUT let's not dwell on that yet, shall we? maybe the larger doses will turn it around again. i swear his nose and ears look a little pinker this evening.

otherwise, he's pretty great. he gained back the weight he'd lost, i've been putting a lot of time into encouraging him to eat and i guess it paid off. his electrolytes are balanced again although the oral potassium supplement is messy and difficult to give. it's kind of sugary and at least a little winds up dripping out of his mouth during the process, so he has little potassium icicles in his fur here and there. i've started giving him a sponge bath about once a week to get rid of that and just generally clean him up. it's... semi-effective. he's not that enthusiastic about it.

his fancypants memory foam bed arrived yesterday, and it actually is pretty awesome. much more awesome than the assortment of folded blankets i typically use for him. was it worth the money? ehhh... maybe not. but it is really nice.

i put it in front of his favorite heat vent and he seems to be extremely comfortable there-- all stretched out and more relaxed than i usually see him. so i think that's a win.

:|:

i re-started weight watchers on monday. so far, so good. it was either that or start shopping for clothes. this seems like the better option. cheaper, anyway. after all, i have fancypants pet beds to pay for.

speaking of financial shenanigans, i have a nibble on the convertible! someone at work wants to look at it friday. i'm trying not to get too hopeful about it, but if i were to actually sell it in a private sale, it would improve my finances considerably. oh yes.

i posted to the neighborhood listserv that creepy lawn guy was back and wow, huge discussion with elements of bickering and people getting all huffy and then other people complaining about how they're sick of all the complaining. ah, the internet.

the upshot seems to be that a lot of people don't want him around (understandably, since it appears that he starts peeping again almost immediately after being released from jail), anyone who admits that they might consider hiring him again gets beaten down and yelled at (which is kind of understandable given that he is, technically, a sex offender), and he still keeps finding work in the neighborhood because, oh my god, maybe not everyone is on the list.

so that's what's new with me.

Posted by lisa at 10:30 PM

December 01, 2007

the return of creepy lawn guy

looks like he's out of jail. for those who aren't familiar with the story of creepy lawn guy...

he'd better stay the fuck away from my house.

Posted by lisa at 11:12 AM

internet books

okay, if the disapproving rabbits people can publish a damn book, there's no reason i can't write my damn new beetle book dammit.

Posted by lisa at 01:05 AM