Barb's Burblings

I got to work this

I got to work this morning and it was excessively cold in the office. We found out that it’s because the building manager decided to switch the heating system from “Winter” to “Summer.” I can kind of understand it. I mean, it had been fairly warm lately. But it’s currently 36 degrees out. It snowed yesterday. We need heat!

The ice skating yesterday was great. My boy, Timothy Goebel, was adorable. Sooo cute. With his hopping around as he waited to go on, and hugging the other skaters, and smiling. Awww. Hee hee hee. Yes, that is me, giggling like a 10-year old. He’s so cute that I even forgave him for skating to “Arms Wide Open” by Creed, and getting that song into my head.

Anyway, the rest of the weekend? “I did nothing. And it was everything I dreamed it would be.” – Office Space

Current song in my head:
“Maria” from West Side Story

Okay, the picture had been

Okay, the picture had been gone last night. But I'm happy it came back.

I'm quite upset that the

I'm quite upset that the adorable picture of Jude Law has disappeared. It was a great picture.

Jude Law: you like them

Jude Law: you like them romantic and British with
beauiful green eyes.


Which guy are you destined to have sex with?
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Yes!!!

I started a class last

I started a class last night at UVA on Production Management and Editing. It’s described as:

“An important course for both manuscript editors and production editors/managers. Topics include working with editors, designers, and production supervisors; hiring and supervising freelance copyeditors, proofreaders, and indexers; coordinating several projects simultaneously; checking proofs, repros, blues, and color proofing; coding the electronic manuscript for a typesetter; desktop typesetting; the docutech book; photo-CD and color printing; the future of printing from disc to plate, and disc to press.”

I really enjoyed the first class. I mean, that’s the job that I’m working towards (and have kind of already started). The teachers are good. And there are actually nice people, people kind of near my age in the class. So yay!

Plus, it’s almost 70 degrees out. True, it’s supposed to rain. But let’s hope that holds off until tonight.

Current song in my head:
“(Stepping Down the) Glory Road” by Runrig

That time of year has

That time of year has come again. Spring. And it’s warmed up enough that I can go back to eating lunch outside. Oh, how I love eating my lunch outside. I can escape the building and enjoy my hour. When I have lunch upstairs in our lunchroom, it’s nice, and I get to read, but I’m generally surrounded by the idiotic talking of my coworkers (now, I like a lot of my coworkers, but the conversation of the people in the lunchroom tends very much to be stupid). Anyway. When I go outside, it’s a different world. I can get lost in my book, and enjoy the quiet. I can watch the traffic go by, or watch the fountain (when it’s on—and it’s not yet), or watch the other people enjoying their lunches. It’s just so peaceful and lovely. The time speeds by, but when I’m walking back into the office, I feel like I’ve been away for a long time. And that’s a good thing.

Current song in my head:
“A Whole New World” from Aladdin

We're obviously going to win

We're obviously going to win this war, since we have Optimus Prime on our side.

So on my way home

So on my way home from work, I remembered that whole sniper thing last fall, and you know, I didn't feel particularly safe then. But at least it was a known threat. I could avoid getting gas or being in public places. This is a much more nebulous fear. Anyway.

In January of 1991 I

In January of 1991 I was 12, and living in the house in Connecticut. That night, I was lying on my bed, listening to the radio and doing a word search. It came over the radio that we were bombing Baghdad. I knew about the invasion of Kuwait, but it still came as a surprise to me, and I spent the rest of the evening in front of the tv with my parents.

Last night I watched Angel, then when Jody flipped to the regular networks, we discovered that Something Had Happened. Another war had begun.

And lying in bed last night, for the first time since September of 2001, I didn’t feel safe.

Current song in my head:
“I Saw Her Again” by the Mamas & Papas

I don't know whether it's

I don't know whether it's because I've been going to bed a bit earlier, or whether it's because it's now light out when I get up, or a combination of the two, but for the past couple of days, I've been quite alert and in a good mood in the mornings. I like it. I finally got an indexer for the book I'm working on, so I'm happy about that.

And I'm trying to get back into my good eating habits after something like 3 months of pretty much not really watching what I eat. The fact that I've gained weight 2 weeks running now has also helped motivate me. So now I'm going to drink water when I'm hungry. Well, at work, anyway.

Speaking of work, we've started working on our schedules for our annual conference (June 6–9 here in DC). Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time at the bookstore in our expo. Whee. I'll also be doing some writing again. Go me, getting the clips.

Current song in my head:
"I Should've Known Better" by the Beatles

I meant to blog yesterday...but

I meant to blog yesterday...but didn't. The weekend in Gettysburg was fantastic; it was gorgeous out and I had a great time, both at O'Rourke's and just wandering around the greater Gettysburg area. Carrie and I continue our apartment search, and I think we're just about done. We've narrowed down the options, and the places all look pretty nice. I've moved from manuscript to typeset pages of the book I'm in charge of, which means I now get to deal with proofreading and indexing (no, I don't do the indexing; what I meant it, this means dealing with more freelancers). I still have to go on two First Ladies tour and write an outline for my tour. I'm probably going to buy a ticket for the exhibition of the World Figure Skating Championships. My parents' 35th anniversary is this Sunday. I plan on spending tonight going through my stuff and getting rid of a lot of crap I don't need because, for maybe the first time in my life, I'm motivated to do that.

So that's where I am. Just a quick update for all of you. Because I know you all were insanely worried after I haven't blogged for a whole four days.

Current song in my head:
"I Am I Said" by Neil Diamond

Okay. One of the more

Okay. One of the more evil sites in the world is PopCap. It has a whole bunch of games to play. It’s very fun. And addictive. Sadly, unlike TWoP, which is at least text, these are blatantly Not Work.

I'm clearing out my email,

I'm clearing out my email, going through my Sent Mail folder. I found one. The body of the message is this: "I forgot to ask this earlier--should the penalty clause be deleted from EJ's contract? Thanks!" However, it's to "Nightwing" from "Dr. No." I have no idea what Krishni and I were doing that day. Apparently pretending to be spies or something. Hee. Good times.

It’s always odd when something

It’s always odd when something that you idly speculate about, but never think will happen, actually happens.

Vote hamster in 2004!

Vote hamster in 2004!

For a day when I

For a day when I don’t have much work to do, time is passing very quickly. It’s already after noon! Whee!

I had a good weekend. Looking back, I feel like I didn’t spend much time at home. Though most of Saturday (well, after 2 p.m. or so) I was at home. Because there was only one First Ladies tour instead of two. So now I have to cram in another two tours before March 31. Bon Jovi kicked all sorts of ass last night. And Jon Bon Jovi? Is hot. Totally hot. And he clearly doesn’t need to work out, as he’s the most energetic person I’ve seen. Ever. Particularly for a man who has to be over 40 by this point (his birthday was March 2, but I don’t know how old he turned). Mmm. Jon Bon Jovi.

Anyway. Carrie and I went apartment hunting yesterday. Oh, the absolute joy that is. Only not. At all. I hate the entire process of moving. I hate looking for a new place to live, I hate packing, I hate the lugging of boxes everywhere, I hate unpacking. The irony is, I like living in new places. Note: not new towns; new places. The prospect of a new environment excites me. We found a couple of nice places. In particular, one in Rockville and one in Silver Spring. The one in Silver Spring is nicer and less expensive, but is way the heck out there. The one in Rockville is, well, close. To everything. The nearest movie theater isn’t a 20 minute drive away. So I’m torn. But we’re not done looking.

Current song in my head:
“Bad Medicine” by Bon Jovi

This is my horoscope for

This is my horoscope for today:

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You may wonder where next paycheck is coming from, how to pay bills and meet domestic requirements. Unexpected help comes from surprise source, including money. Someone truly "loves you."

What does this mean? Why is "loves you" in quotes? It wasn't in quotes in the print version of the paper. I know where my next paycheck is coming from, but I have been worrying about money issues lately. Does this mean that someone is going to pony up some money for me? That would be fantastic! Maybe Steve hit the jackpot in Atlantic City and he plans on giving me some money to pay off my credit card bills. That would rock. But it's not like a got a check in the mail today. Oh well.

Today was absolutely gorgeous. It

Today was absolutely gorgeous. It was fantastic. When I got into my car after work today, all I wanted to do was roll down the windows and go for a drive. It was the first warm day of the year, and I so just wanted to take off. But I couldn't. There was nowhere I could head at 5:30 on a Wednesday afternoon that I wouldn't get caught in traffic. I think that's the first time that I've actually disliked living in this area. It may also be the first time I missed living in Montana.

But don't tell my dad that.

When my IM window opened

When my IM window opened this morning, there was a link to a listing of the towns with the highest median income in the country (with populations over 25,000). There are 25 towns on the list. The number one town is Potomac, Maryland, a few short miles from where I live and work. Bethesda, where I work, is #12. Olney, another few short miles away, is #11, and McLean, Virginia (also close by) is #7. Westfield, New Jersey, where I lived from 1979-1987, is #19. After living in New Jersey, we moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut, not far from #8 (Trumbull) and #2 (Westport, where my dad worked). Oddly enough, I don’t see any towns in Montana on this list. Anyway, it appears that I am surrounded by wealth. And yet my checking account is woefully empty. Clearly I need a raise. I’m totally bringing down Rockville’s median (which, when I looked into it, was over $80,000).

Current song in my head:
“Son of a Preacher Man” by Dusty Springfield

I'm certainly not a big

I'm certainly not a big fan of the Pope, but we don't disagree about everything.

I brought a cake into

I brought a cake into work today. Yesterday, I got into a discussion with my boss and a couple of coworkers about our love of cake. So I made a cake last night and brought it in today. You should see the way people’s faces light up when you ask them if they want cake. Particularly when it’s for no particular reason. I have brought joy into people’s lives. Hooray for cake day!

Current song in my head:
“There She Goes” by the La’s

Happy 28th birthday, Kathy!

Happy 28th birthday, Kathy!

A few cartoon tributes to

A few cartoon tributes to Mr. Rogers.

I had a lovely weekend.

I had a lovely weekend. It was one of those weekends where I didn’t do anything particularly exciting, but dang, it was great. I’m such a homebody. I have just as much staying in, or playing games with friends, as I do going out. That’s a lie. I have more fun just hanging out with friends than I do going out. Anyway, excellent weekend.

And television last night rocked. Alias kicked all sorts of ass. SpyMommy is eeeevil, but at least she got some Victor Garber lovin’ in before she returned to her evilness. And I need to give props to Merrin Dungey. She does such a great job with Not!Francie. I’m so happy they actually gave her something to do. The Dead Zone was also fantastic. I like these episodes where we only have Johnny and one other regular (so long as that regular isn’t Sarah). Plus, Anthony Michael Hall looked really good.

This week looks pretty quiet for me, work-wise. The book project I’m in charge of is at the typesetter. I have a few little things to do, but nothing huge. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. Time moves more quickly when you’re busy.

Current song in my head:
“(You’re the) Devil in Disguise” by Elvis

Caring For Your Introvert (thanks

Caring For Your Introvert (thanks to Kruxy for the link)

I am, by and large, an introvert. A lot of what that article describes is what my life is like. Well, I'm not rude to people when they exchange pleasantries with me. And I do enjoy talking to people. Just not to strangers. Or people I don't know well. Oh, and I do like talking about myself. I love spending time by myself. I guess I've always been like this, though part of me wonders how much is a result of when we moved--particularly when we moved to Montana. I made a few friends, but I spent a lot of time alone. Or did I not make many friends because I'm introverted, and it's an evil cycle? I vote for evil cycle.

I'm making a mix, so

I'm making a mix, so I was going through my CDs trying to find appropriate songs. I discovered one on my Sounds of the Eighties - 1986 CD, so snagged it. When I opened the case, I discovered my Wedding Singer soundtrack (in addition to the 1986 CD). I've been looking for that CD since the summer after graduation. Which I guess goes to show how often I've listened to the 1986 CD.