Ever had one of those days when you look at the clock, notice that 15 minutes has passed since you looked last, and can't figure out whether 15 minutes fly by or dragged by? It's not a good thing. My head is a confusion. In a bad way. Can I please just go home?
It's funny how you can be gone from someplace for only one day and yet still feel like everything's surreal when you return. Not surreal. Just...different. I can't really describe it. Yesterday I was at an all-day seminar on copyright law (woo!). Today I'm back at work. And it's a little weird. Maybe it's because my schedule has been thrown off. Plus the fact that just because I'm not here doesn't mean that life can't continue as normal. Meetings were still had. Jokes were still made. Rum cake was still available in the kitchen (I love rum cake. I'm upset I missed that).
But at least I got home early and could take a nap. Mmm, naps.
And I'm thinking I should see a doctor. You know that feeling your throat gets before you get a full-on sore throat? My throat's been feeling like that for like a month. It's just annoying. And now I've moved into the occasional light cough stage. Not pleasing at all.
Current song in my head:
"F.N.T." by Semisonic
AOTA has casual Friday. So today I'm wearing jeans, Chucks, and my long-sleeved t-shirt from BASE '97. I'm comfy. However, the Board is meeting here today, which I forgot. So there are important people wandering around wearing nice clothes. Me? Not so much. So naturally when I went up to 11 (where our Executives live), I had to run into the Deputy Executive Director. Oops. Hey, at least he smiled at me, as opposed to shooting me the look of death.
And I hope you all notice how noticable my "Comments" button is now. Making it easier for you to comment. You know, so I feel loved. A little.
Current song in my head:
"Stuck In A Moment (That You Can't Get Out Of)" by U2
I am now much more awake and totally pumped to go to Staples tonight. They have a good selection of bookshelves as well as desk chairs and filing cabinets, whee! Yes, I feel better. Of course, talk to me again during my 2:30-3 slump.
Hmm, maybe I'll just do a different template for this thing completely.
I'm so looking forward to tonight. I can just go home, and unpack more, and send out more "I've Moved!" cards, and sleep. Go to bed early. I'm so tired. I've been feeling run down for quite some time now. I think my body is on the verge of getting sick. I took a day off about a month ago to keep it at bay, but my throat has had a tickle (you know--it's not sore, but it's almost there) for forever and I'm just so tired. The stress of finding a place, of moving, of work, of my class, of my parents moving...I think it's all ganged up on me and my body is refusing to cope with it. Plus, I have this huge headache and am completely lacking in motivation. I'm considering taking off part of the afternoon to nap. I'll see how I feel later. The Tylenol is helping the headache, at least.
My life feels surreal at the moment. I think it's the fact that I've moved into a new place, so that part of my life has changed (new place, roommates, etc.), but my job is exactly the same. It just makes everything seem weird. And driving home on Rockville Pike? Strange. I guess it's because moving equals change, but everything hasn't changed for me.
I can't believe it's already the end of October. Maybe it's the 75-degree weather that's doing it. Time is flying by. I guess it really has been...since college. Bizarre. "Days go passing into years...years go passing day by day," as the Muppets once sang.
The other day I was walking down the street and smelled, I guess grass. But this particularly smell always makes me think of the south. I guess it's because I strongly associate it with my granparents' house in Baltimore, then I only ever smelled it at places like Monticello and Williamsburg. I don't have many smell associations (that's what happens when your nose was stopped up for the first 15 years of your life). Anyway. Random.
Today as I was driving in to work, I was behind a car that had a bumper sticker that said, "Got haggis?"
Oh, and if anyone knows how I can change the color of my "Comments" button so it doesn't blend in, please let me know. You know, by commenting. So I feel loved.
Current song in my head:
"He'll Make Me Happy" from The Muppets Take Manhattan
So it's 11:30. I have 535 words of my 1000 word feature story written. I have seven whole hours to write it. Though, really, I should probably get some work done today as well. Of course, earlier Krishni asked me, "How's the feature story?" and I made a bad face, and she's like, "Oh! Well, I'll let you get back to work on it!" I love Krishni. She's the bestest. And after today, the class will be over! WOO!
Kitten poker = comedy gold. I love me some Spike (or, should I say, Brad?).
Current song in my head:
"Imperial March" from Star Wars
So now, after a few minor problems (what? no, we don't need a phone), I'm all moved into the new house. Yay! It's so pretty and nice. Things are slowly making their way to their proper places. I do need to get another bookshelf. And some of the boxes need to be put in storage (I don't really need to have my sash from Brownies with me at all times). But it's good. It's definitely good. I really like having a house and the kitchen is great! It makes me happy. It's odd coming home and having other people around. But I do enjoy having my own room. Whee! It's annoying, though, that it isn't until 11 at night that I get motivated to unpack.
Work? Yes, it exists. Not quite as busy as last week. Yesterday I got to leave early to wait for the phone guy (though that turned out to be unnecessary-Jody was already home) and wound up watching The Great Gatsby. Mmm, young Robert Redford in a tux and cool hats.
It's also fun introducing my cousin Dave to the world of Buffy. His wife has started the process. I will simply continue his education.
One more class and I really really don't feel like doing my feature story. Or my homework. I enjoy the class, but as I've said before, am severely unmotivated to do any of the work for it. One more class.
Current song in my head:
"Roll to Me" by Del Amitri
Okay, this is my job--and the people I have to deal with. But in humorous form.
How many authors does it take to change a lightbulb?
But why do we have to change it?
How many developmental editors does it take to change a lightbulb?
Well, first we need to rip out the wiring.....
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb?
Does it have to be a lightbulb?
How many production people does it take to change a lightbulb?
Damn it! I can't believe they're changing the freakin' lightbulb again!
How many managing editors does it take to change a lightbulb?
That lightbulb was supposed to be changed last week!
How many copy editors does it take to change a lightbulb?
The last time this question was asked it involved managing editors. Is the difference intentional? Should one or the other instance be changed? It seems inconsistent.
How many proofreaders does it take to change a lightbulb?
Proofreaders aren't supposed to change lightbulbs. They should just query them.
How many indexers does it take to change a lightbulb?
In what context are we looking for lightbulbs?
Have you seen the video for the Ryan Adams song "New York, New York"? It's him, playing his guitar across the river from lower Manhattan interspersed with shots of sped up city scenes (you know, people walking, cars driving, etc.). It was filmed on September 7. And throughout practically all the shots of him singing, you can see the World Trade Center there in the background. And it's so weird that they aren't there now. And whenever that video comes on, all I can do is stare at the Twin Towers. And it still gets to me.
Um. Right. I'm sleepy. I should've gone to bed earlier, but for some reason last night I was running around my apartment, taking picture hangers out of the wall and packing even though I was really tired. Silly Barb.
Current song in my head:
"Mad Season" by matchbox twenty
Is there some way to set up a force field around my cube that prevents Suzanne from coming in? And stops her from standing outside my cube, looking at my with that annoying puppy dog look on her face? I also need one that stops her from always having to sit (or stand) next to me. I may be building one up. Yesterday in class she didn't sit at the same table as I did--she sat across the aisle. Oooh.
Yay, moving day this weekend! And the U2 concert! And Meghan's birthday dinner! And my cousin Dave is coming to stay for 3 weeks!
I'm going to be wiped on Monday.
Current song in my head:
"I'm Not Saying a Word" from Blood Brothers
The lead guy on Scrubs looks eerily like Tom Cavanaugh (sp?) on Ed. But the show rocks! I just saw my first episode tonight. Though dang, Mrs. Landingham dies far too much. Poor woman.
I like how they're dealing with Buffy this season. It manages to be fairly light ("I was all dead and frugal!"), but you can still really see what Buffy is going through. Kudos to Joss and company. Although looking back, I enjoyed last season fairly far into it. Here's hoping this season doesn't go down the tubes. Though with Jonathan and company as a Big Bad (?!), it would take a lot to go down. Plus the Willow turning eeevil. And I love Giles.
Current song in my head:
"Hallelujah"
Blech. I keep wanting to go home so I can move more stuff to the house. I just know that next week I'm going to want to be home so I can unpack. Plus, doing inventory for Genetics is not all that thrilling. Plus, I have a headache.
At least there's a new Buffy tonight. And chatting with Becca during Angel last night was fun.
Current song in my head:
"All for You" by Sister Hazel
Excellent! I made it work. Below each post now is the word "Comment," but it's really hard to see because it's almost the same color as the background. And no, I don't feel like changing it. Right now I'm too proud of myself. Go me!
I'm trying to get something on my blog so that you can post comments. Please bear with me. This would be a lot easier if I had any ability at HTML.
Ever have one of those days that's just frustrating? I had a dentist appointment this morning. Traffic was bad, so I was late. Which was okay, because the dentist was also caught in traffic. He got to me fairly quickly, numbed the left part of my face, then I didn't see him for a good 10 minutes. The permanent crowns went in great, so then I trundled off to work. Where I had to park on the fourth level of the parking garage, which is just sketchtastic. I then got to go to a meeting (arriving a good 10 minutes late) which lasted an hour, and the vast majority of which did not apply to me. Usually I don't care about that and just zone out, but I was really getting annoyed. Like, I was at the point that I wanted to stand up, say, "I have better things to do than sit here," and leave. Finally the meeting ended and I spent a good portion of the morning talking with Verizon and MCI about transferring phone services to the new place. It's 1, and I haven't done anything. I have a lot of work to do. I think that plus the fact that I feel very much in limbo is not helping. I just want it to be next weekend so I can get moved into the house and be all settled and not deal with any of this crap anymore. Plus, I just heard that Krishni, Brynda, and Meghan are going out for drinks tonight (it's Meghan's birthday today and a large group from work is going out to dinner which is cool) and of course I'm not invited because Krishni feels weird about doing things with me socially, which I understand, but which still makes me feel like crap.
Okay, trying to move out of rant mode. I was talking to someone in my writing class last week about online forums and I mentioned weblogs. It's a weird concept to explain. She didn't understand why someone would want to write all these personal things and put them up on the Internet. Maybe it's a generational thing. She's in her 40s. It was bizarre.
Saturday was beautiful. It was so great to take the Metro downtown and see all these people getting off at Smithsonian, and walking around the Mall and that area and seeing so many people around. We weren't the only ones eating at the Old Post Office Pavilion this time! It's been depressing with no tourism. I keep reading all these articles about how hotels are empty and waiters are being fired and nobody's around. But hopefully things will pick up.
It does get weird. I can't believe I'm living in a time where I have to seriously worry about anthrax, of all things. I get upset when I hear people talk about how wrong it is for people to protest our actions. As Americans, it's our right to protest. You might not agree, but don't get on people for being "unpatriotic" because they don't agree with what we're doing. Let people protest. That's the America we're trying to protect.
I'm obviously scattered and all over the place. I really just want to go home and sleep and forget about life for just a little while. That's not too much to ask for, is it? Alas, work calls. Eh, screw it. I'm going to lunch. Well, as soon as the damn Novocain wears off.
Current song in my head:
"Parents Just Don't Understand" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
Um, okay. Suzanne has been working on writing up a number of the procedures around here (steps before publication, etc.). I just find out that she did one on copyright permission issues. And I haven't seen this procedure. Which blows my mind, because Suzanne hasn't done any permission requests. That's been all me. She doesn't know squat about it (or about a lot of other things, really). Not that I mind that she wrote up the procedure (hey, better her than me!). I guess I just feel like she's cutting in on my territory. Or something. I don't know.
This afternoon I'm meeting with Karen, the Associate Executive Director for Marketing, Membership, and Communications. She's really nice, but I have no idea what she's going to want to talk about. She wanted to meet with everyone in the division. She'll probably ask me for ideas...and I won't have any and look like a big idiot. Ah well. Such is life.
Um, other stuff, is indeed going on in my life. But I don't really feel like writing about it. Work has been insanely busy lately. Which is a good thing. But it leads to much less time playing on the Internet.
Current song in my head:
"Buttercup" (or whatever it's called; you know the one--"Why do you build me (build me up), buttercup, baby, just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around, and then worst of all (worst of all), you never call baby when you say you will (say you will); but I love you still" etc.)
It's very odd. Now that I'm out in the real world, age differences really don't matter that much. I mean, Meghan is a little over seven years older than I am, but I could totally be friends with her. It's a good thing. It's amazing how much in school we're limited by our grades. In college it seems wrong if a senior dates a freshman. In the real world, if the age difference is three years, it's not that big a deal.
Speaking of life post-college, last night Carrie and I were watching Gilmore Girls, and one of the characters said, "I'll have a life after college!" Um, no. While life on the other side of college isn't that bad, life post-college doesn't lay a finger to life in college.
Can you tell I loved college? Ah well.
Current song in my head:
"I'm Not Saying a Word" from Blood Brothers
Here's a road name for you: "Delong Road." Hee! Get it?
Speaking of roads, we found a place to live! It's in Rockville (near the Bennigans so near and dear to our hearts). Four bedrooms, two bathrooms. The windows and bathrooms and entire upstairs are completely new. The upstairs is carpeted and downstairs is hardwood. There's an extra refrigerator. The landlord lives across the street. We signed the lease last night. It has a carport. No dishwasher. I'll be on the first floor, with Jody. Carrie and Lucy will be upstairs. And we start moving stuff in this weekend. Or maybe Thursday. Whee!
Also, I got to interview Dave Barry for my profile of Gene Weingarten. He was very nice and pleasant and I managed to avoid gushing too much. I think I managed to convey the fact that I'm a fan without, you know, drooling on the phone. And if you were wondering, he thinks that the movie Big Trouble, which is based on one of his books, will be released in the spring. We had a nice conversation, and my life is now a little more complete. He's really surprisingly normal. Well, normal in my frame of reference.
Current song in my head:
"Good Morning" from Singin' in the Rain
(Right, the song they build up to by noticing that it's like 1 a.m., and the lyrics include "We've talked the whole night through." Not even a little.)
The other night in class, we had to interview each other. I wound up talking to the guy in our class, Jamison. Anyway, he mentioned that he's been at his current job for 5 years. Now he looks to be about my age. Or, he looks youngish (20s), so for some reason I assumed he was younger. So I ask him how old he is. 26. Okay. He asks how old I am. 22--almost 23. He thought I was older. He says it's because I act very "professionally" or something. Which I find excessively amusing.
I totally had another thought for something to post, but it's gone. Oh well. It's a Friday. What do you expect?
Current song in my head:
"Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan
I really just wanted to write to post a link. It's to the monologue Jon Stewart gave on the first Daily Show after the September 11 attacks. Jon Stewart is so my boyfriend. Oh, and in the third paragraph, the reason he says, "I'm sorry" is because he keeps tearing up. What a sweetie. And he's left-handed! Too bad he smokes. And, you know, is married. Anyway, go here. Read it. Enjoy. I hope that link works.
Oh, and last night on The West Wing there was a total shout-out to me. They used the same Ben Franklin quote that I used while ago right on this very blog. I'd say which day, but I'm having major problems with my archives. Good episode, too. As was Buffy. My Xander is back. Yay!
Current song in my head:
"Oops I Did It Again" by Britney Spears (kill. me. now.)
Sunday night I was talking to my sister and realized that, yeah, I am pretty content with my life. Except for, you know, the total lack of housing after Halloween. But besides that, I'm happy. And I think that's how life should be. A life where everything is great would be boring. You wouldn't appreciate it. A good life is when pretty much everything is going well, except one or two things. So you're still happy…but your life otherwise has enough wrong that you appreciate it when things are going right.
Wow. That made no sense. Oh well. I'm doing this just as much for myself as I'm doing it for anyone who happens to read it.
So I'm happy. But not waiting for a radical change in perspective, like some people (*cough*Steve*cough*). You know, life could be like a box of chocolates. And despite what others think, not once have I ever found a turd in any box of chocolates.
But if anyone happens to know of a 4 bedroom house in Silver Spring that's for rent and costs around $1500-$2000, let me know.
Current song in my head:
"Sister Christian"