And things are finally settling down. Maybe??

This year has been a crazy one, even by our standards.

There was the Big Move, of course, and finally graduating with my Master's.  A new niece was born in the summer.  These all would be enough to make any year pretty eventful.  But of course, things didn't stop there.

It has also been the Year of Broken Things.  In order:

• I broke my toe the week before we moved.  Not fun spending the first several months of our time in HI in a boot or walking shoe.  Besides being hot, it also meant being unable to hike or go to the beach (walking on sand is hard!!) or spend time just walking about playing tourist :(
• Two computers have died and been repaired (both thankfully within warranty, but one did die the DAY before we flew out from TX - I nearly cried)
• My car arrived in HI and immediately needed repairs
• The cat is starting to have some age-related problems (manageable, but still...). 
• And the stress caused my eyes to start showing their age.  Apparently I've always been far-sighted and just never needed glasses before, but the stress of this summer was the breaking point.  When I can't focus on the stitches on my knitting needles, that's not good.

And yes, this was all surrounding the move out to Hawaii and Zach being immediately posted to Korea for an extended temporary duty (he'll be back in Spring).

And all this has been in addition to the craziness outside in the world.  Several of my favorite actors have passed away this year, as well as a favorite children's author (Anna Dewdney, of Llama Llama fame), and of course the election with it's toxic build-up and post-election fall-out.  The world outside has been a pretty stressful place too.

I'm not trying to sound negative.  Lots of good has happened this year as well.  The move, graduation, new niece, new job (actually in my field!!).  I've had a bit of chance to explore, get involved, meet new people.  A chance to travel out to visit Zach in Korea too (still labeling pictures from that trip).

So, if anyone was wondering why I haven't been writing much this year, this is why.  Life has been quite a lot this year.  Every time I sat down to write here, I was either too tired to think coherently, or I'd been on my own too much and it felt like everything I was thinking was just pouring out, and it felt like I was oversharing.  It made it hard to find that balance where I was just comfortably writing. 

Hopefully 2017 will be a bit calmer and a bit saner, but still with some adventures to be had. 

Happy New Year everyone!

PS - one thing they don't tell you about moving to Hawaii is the extreme love of fireworks!  We had 6 hours of fireworks going off in the neighborhood yesterday!!  Not fireworks shows, just firecrackers in the neighborhood - and we live in a quiet neighborhood!  Started about 7-7:30ish as the sun went down, and was still going at least until 1:30am when I finally was tired enough to just pass out, despite the noise!  Scruffy and I BOTH slept in this morning - way too late for us.

Colorado Trip: Garden of the Gods

First stop in Colorado Springs was shopping, actually.  So nice being in a town that has shops for our hobbies again!!  For example, both Zach and I needed to be fitted for new running shoes, but our closest running store at home is in Austin, about an hour away.  So we made sure to stop by one of the (4!!) running stores in Colorado Springs.  Still can't believe that we don't have a running store, with the base right there and so many people running regularly for PT.  But no, all we've got are big-box sports stores.  The type of place where "Well, the more expensive pair is supposed to be pretty good."  Yeah, need a little more than that when training for half and full marathons...

Funnily enough, we ended up being fitted for the same shoe!  Of course, my shoe size is almost half as small as his, so our identical shoe boxes looked more like a full-size and a mini-sized pair of something.  Was pretty funny, sitting there on the counter for checkout, actually.

For the first touristing bit, we hit up the Garden of the Gods.  It's a National Natural Landmark centered about some very scenic red rock outcrops.  There's about 15 miles of trails through the park, and it's a pretty popular place for hikers and trail runners and, on the easier trails, families with their kids.

It's a really lovely little hiking spot.  Not strenuous trails, but absolutely gorgeous, and right in town.  I mean, it was only about 20 minutes from our friends' place, from downtown, etc.  That's one of the great things about Colorado Springs - within 20-30 minutes, you go from shopping and restaurants and museums to absolutely stunning mountains and parks and trails.  Everything you could want, so convenient!

The photos below are from a spot in the park not to be missed.  The rock columns behind me are the Siamese Twins.  According to the park website, "SIAMESE TWINS TRAIL is an easy 1 mile roundtrip, with less than a 150 foot rise. There is a unique view of Pikes Peak through the natural window of the twins."  It is a very pretty view.  The reddish rocks, the bright blue sky, and the snow on Pike's Peak make for a really lovely photo.  Definitely worth the walk up there, if you're ever in the area.

 

And for a bit of fun, did you know Garden of the Gods has been a pretty, scenic little tourist spot since the late 1800s?  At Balanced Rock, another one of the landmarks in the park, a photographer and his son would take pictures for the tourists coming through, at $0.25 a person.  Those same photos would probably be $25 a person nowadays!  So, we got pictures in front the same rock as a hundred years of hikers before us, though of course we took ours ourselves :)

 

And a little bit of venting to wrap up this post - Murphy's Law is alive and well.  First real trip in months, first day touristing on the first real trip, and my camera dies.  We were hiking, and I was taking pictures.  We stop, I take pictures, camera goes back in its case, we keep walking, and the next time I pull it out to take pictures, it's dead.  The screen looks like a washed out red watercolor, or one of the stylized drug trip/hallucination/dream sequence sort of special effects from a cheap movie.  Not the screen itself broken, since I could scroll back and see the pictures from earlier that morning nice and clearly.  But anything from there on out...  red and blurred.  Bah!!  This camera is only 6 months old!!!  Thankfully it's still under warranty, so as soon as we got back, it got mailed in, and I'm hoping it can be fixed.  But, dangit Murphy, why must your law be so freakin' effective??

An interesting discussion...

This topic showed up recently on the Runner's World forums, based on an article on men running in women's-oriented races.  And since it's a week until my own marathon (yikes!), I thought it'd be a good topic.  There are more and more women-geared races appearing around the country - the Nike Women's Marathon, the Iron Girl series of races, the Disney Princess Half Marathon, the Women's Running Half Marathon series of races, the Run Like a Diva race...  These races have more female-oriented swag, finisher's awards, etc.  The debate has come from male "interlopers" running in these races.

Reading the comments posted on the actual article is rather depressing, like "What's next he's going to enter a 12-year old's race? Jonathan Mederos, King of the Sixth Grade Fun Run."  Thanks, idiot, for comparing a predominantly-female field to 6th graders.  Very supportive.  How fast can you run 13 miles?  (Can you hear the sarcasm, folks?)  Just another sad reminder of how bitter and derogatory people can be behind the anonymity of the Internet.

The forum at Runner's World was a little more balanced.  If you set a best time, no matter what the competition it, it's still a good race.  However, if you're focusing on what place you came in, instead of what time, then it's a different story, and that's what really triggers the debate over these races.

Races are becoming a big business nowadays,  both for the companies running them and for the numerous charities who take advantage of the races to raise money for their causes.  Obesity is a serious problem nationwide.  As people try to get moving, get away from their computers and sedentary jobs, races provide plenty of opportunity to get some motivation to get moving.  Gotta train for these things!  A lot of women might feel uncomfortable in a mixed setting, the same way some women are more comfortable in a women's college instead of a co-ed one.  It's the same reason behind the running club Girls on the Run - giving women and girls who might be a bit shyer, a place where they might feel less pressure.  And if having a race where you don't feel judged, or there are some wonderful swag bags (the Nike Women's finisher's loot includes jewelry from Tiffany's), whatever it takes to motivate you to get moving, then that's a great step in the right direction towards being healthier!  And if you are a faster woman, it's a nice mental boost to actually be the first to cross the line, not just the first woman.

However, it's true - the races aren't restricted to women, just geared towards them.  Men can enter, if they don't mind the "girlishness," like having their finisher's medal presented by a guy in a tux (at the Nike Women's).  If they are running as Prince Charming to their own Princess, then more power to 'em!  I think it's great to be that supportive.  I think it's uncalled for on the specators' side to be heckling the runners, regardless of sex.  No matter the gender, those runners are putting forth significantly more effort than the spectator simply watching the race, and at the end of 13 or 26 miles, you don't need to be hearing belittling or unsupportive comments.

If the race organizers really want to have women cross the finish line first, or be first on the podium, they do have several options.  Several of these races stagger the starting corrals - have the women start in the first corral or in the first few.  The men then start several minutes after the first batch(es) of women, so even if a male posts the fastest time, odds are still good that a woman crossed the finish line first.

The point was made by several posters though, about how bitter the reaction would be with men's-only or men's-oriented races.  And it's an unfortunate truth. Possible perceived prejudices can only run one way, no matter what it's referring to - sports, scholarships, anything.  It's a PR suicide to have them run the other.  But that is a societal problem; the races are simply another example of how hard it is to really achieve a level of equality which satisfies everyone.

I'm of two minds when it comes to this debate.  It's nice to have a female-only environment sometimes - can be a bit more supportive, less competition-focused.  But, if it's an open race, then the guys have every right to run too.  I guess because I'm not fast enough to make a difference if the race's predominantly women or not!  Kinda hard to be passionate about opportunities to reach the podium, when I'll be in the middle of the pack either way :)

Personally, I'd love to run some of these women's races.  The swag looks GREAT at some of them, and Mom and I have already started talking about doing the Disney Princess race one of these years (maybe the year I turn 30, Mom???)  I choose races based on loot, on scenery, on a fun race environment.  If that happens to be a women's only race, then it's a women's only race. Like I mentioned, I'm a middle of the pack runner, so the actual place doesn't make much difference to me.

Ridiculousness!!!

Ok, I love my new phone and all it's capabilities, but this is the first time I was motivated to take a picture of something in the grocery store.

ADVENT CALENDARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know, the type with the little windows where candy goes! On sale, near the checkout line in the commissary. And yes, that was during the grocery run this morning, which (last I checked) was Columbus Day in mid-October.

What the heck is Christmas candy doing in the store!?!?

The only time seasonal goodies should be brought out early is for Easter, because Cadbury eggs are not available other times of year. All other seasonal candy is the same as normal, but colored specially for the holidays (Halloween M&Ms for example). There is no need for Halloween candy in mid-August, and there is no need for Christmas candy in mid-October. Seriously, who buys it? It's not still going to be good when December rolls around, and where are you going to put it for a month and a half before you start using it?

Just rubs me the wrong way...

I never want another fall like this

EVER!!

In case you're wondering why posting has been sporadic, well... the real world has sucked away all spare time and energy. Following a busy summer (my job is very seasonally-based), we have now been short-staffed at my facility for nearly two months (and in a work environment where you have safety-mandated minimum staff requirements, that's a BIG DEAL). Every time we think we're getting new people on, something comes up and we end up remaining short staffed, just with different people in the same slots. So, there's been tons of extra hours for anyone who can pick them up, and if no one else can, well then, I get them. Sucks to be on top sometimes!

I did have the vacation at the beginning of the month, but that honestly seems like a distant memory already. Things were so crazy the 3 weeks before we travelled, and then we came right back to a whirlwind of drama and stress (some of it actually even warranted!) that I've been going nonstop since I got back!

And the crazy part is that we are never short staffed by one person. It always seems to be several at once. The person who's traveling out of town never leaves on a weekend where nothing happens - instead that's the weekend where another gets very very sick and a third decides to quit! It's like we need to be almost double staffed just to have subs available for when things happen! Always, always, it seems to come in clumps like that. Maybe it's just that if it's only one person short, we just find a sub and don't notice, but that when it crosses a threshold of "down by 3" we actually notice. At any rate, it's stressful and tiring and I'm tired of it happening!!

Add to that, a hectic job for Zach and Army paperwork at its convoluted finest (Zach's working out several paperwork tangles at the moment), and it's just been a barrel of monkeys the last few months, lemme tell you! Regular craziness over the summer leading into the past two months of flat-out insanity!

(sigh) I really love my job - I mean, what I actually do on a daily basis - but almost every day I wish I only had to do it 40 hours a week...

Gahhh!

So... success! And frustration!

First, the background: I have been trying to lose weight since the spring. I had lost about 11 pounds in SC before moving out here, which put me back solidly in my healthy weight range (instead of 5-10 lbs over) and then I got married....

Living with Zach and moving out to the inhospitable middle of nowhere rather combined to reverse all weight loss that had happened in SC before the wedding. A husband with a high metabolism eats about 3 times as much as I do, which I had to learn the hard way. So, eating habits changed drastically - not foods, thankfully (we still eat pretty healthily), just portion sizes. And living somewhere where you don't want to be outside or moving for about 5 months of the year really puts a kink in your workout routine when you're used to running outside.

All of that combined in '08 to completely negate all my weight loss in '07, and even packed on just a few pounds more.

I was not amused.

So, in the spring when a Weight Watchers group started up on post, I was excited and joined up again. I had lost the weight before with WW, so knew it worked for me (am really not the type to do well denying myself certain foods - people successful on things like Atkins totally amaze me). Not touting any particular weight loss program here, just saying what worked for me.

And the weight is coming back down. Yay! Am almost back down to what I weighed when we moved out here, putting me within 10 pounds of my overall weight loss goal. Am well pleased.

However! Here's the frustration:

As most of you probably already know, WW is based on daily points targets, a goal for food intake for each day. It's all based on what you weigh currently (the heavier you are, the more your body needs to fuel itself), how active you are, what your age is (the older you are, the slower the metabolism), etc. As you lose weight, WW will regularly prompt you to recalculate your daily points needs, so that you can continue to lose weight.

Well, in one day, I had a birthday and lost a pound according to my weekly weigh-in. The two together meant that my daily point goal went from 22 to 20. I lost 2 points in a day!! I'm sure that doesn't sound like much but really, that's a lot!!! That's a whole snack that I now have to find a lower-point option on!

So, yay! am losing weight, but gah! am losing points!!!

And yes, Zach was more amused than sympathetic at my reaction to my new daily points target. Bah, I say!

I'll leave you now with a picture of my weight-loss cheering section and his ice cream bowl. :)

Review: Beowulf

Another library rental. Which brings me to the point - why can't people take care of things that aren't theirs??? Our library does decently in their selection considering the population of the area it serves (very small post). Yet the idiots who rent seem insistent on beating up on the discs (both CDs and DVDs). We rented a CSI season the other day that had 2 episodes (of the 4 on the disc) that would skip ahead 10 minutes at a time - in one episode you missed a death and the discovery of another body! 10 minutes is a lot in a 45 minutes show!! It's as if they reason, "it's not mine, so it doesn't matter" Seriously folks!! Minor rant brought up by several scratches on this disc too...

Anyhoo: Beowulf. For clarification, this is the most recent version, all CG. Yeah, the one with Angelina Jolie.

The story centers on the epic poem of Beowulf, a hero who rids a town of the troll plaguing them, and then deals with its vengeful mother. There's also a lot of guilt and soul-searching and such, as the mother monster is a temptress, prepared to be the proverbial devil in the bargain.

I never read Beowulf in school. It's part of the 8th grade curriculum in the school district where I grew up, but my 8th grade teacher flat out said he didn't like it, so we would read something else. Instead, we had an intro unit on Shakespeare and read Hamlet. I still thank him for it :) As a result, I only knew the plot synopsis from Bulfinches' and Edith Hamilton's mythology texts. What that means for you? No rant like in my review from Troy! :)

I can't say much about the acting in this, as it's all CG. I mean, the voice acting is good, and they have some good talent in the cast (Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn...) but despite all the sensors and so forth they used on the faces in the filming process, the characters just don't have much facial expression. At least not as much as they could. One review I read described it as having 'too many layers of pancake makeup' on. The queen's character (Robin Wright Penn) was especially blank, facially. And it's not like this is a total action movie - there's a lot of guilt and recriminations and questioning of decisions by the characters, so there's plenty of opportunity for more in the faces. Even traditionally animated movies have more facial expression in their characters than the ones in this movie. But, I guess the technology isn't there yet. It just made it harder to get into the story somehow. Can't relate to the characters as easily, I guess. I really don't know why they didn't do a blend of real and CG - maybe budget, maybe "let's see what we can do" Either way, it's a visually appealing film without any depth, even though the story provides lots of opportunities to get into the characters.

The most interesting, engaging part of the whole DVD was in the extras, on how they filmed it all. Very well done, actually. Be sure to watch.

The writing did have some interesting points. I like Neil Gaman's work, personally, and he's good about those dunique bits in unusual scripts. Just has an interesting way of looking at the world ("The Sandman," anyone?) For example, this is all based on an Old English poem, which is practically a foreign language to us today. The writers found ways to incorporate some of the Old English into the script. Grendel and his mother especially speak in Old English. It's a nice touch that gives them a little more of that other-worldly feel. Still, I'm sure that Hollywood took some serious liberties with the story, too. We all already know my feelings on that :)

One point that I reeeeeally didn't like - especially at the beginning, they seriously overuse the strobe effect. Be forewarned. Grendel first appears with a lot of flickering blue light, creating a strobe effect all over the town's feast hall. Good long fight scene introducing the monster in that flickering scene. Then, you head to the seas to meet Beowulf, who's sailing into town in the midst of a lightning storm. Zach was really bothered by all the flashing for so long, and I at first was just annoyed, but started to get a headache from it all. Got really obnoxious flickering that much for that long. I can't imagine dealing with all that in a theater.

Also, they overused some of the tricks you can do with CG camera angles. The whole looking-down-the-arrow-as-it-flies and so forth. Not badly done at any one point, but it got a little old for me.

Overall: 2 of 5. I didn't hate it, but it just never drew me in. The fight scenes were well done, but some of the lighting and camera work just made your head hurt. At times it felt like it was done more "to see if we can" more than anything else. Still don't see why this couldn't have been a blend of real and CG work.

Looking back at 2008

A New Year's meme. Have seen this one about, so thought it might be a good way to kick off the New Year. (If you're wondering what a meme is, check this site out)

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
All sorts of things! Moved cross-country; visited NV, UT, southern CA; went in a Vegas casino; seen a Joshua tree; stood on a frozen pond; experienced 120+ degree heat; survived my first year of marriage; seen coyotes; lived with my husband; learned to knit bobbles; experienced snow in the desert; listened to sand dunes; managed other people as a job; spent Christmas away from my family; seen a saguaro cactus; learned to deal with the Army full time (grew up a Navy brat)...
Yup, all sorts of stuff :)

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Kinda kept them, but only kinda. Not making more resolutions, but going to keep working on the ones from last year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Several friends and a cousin. In one's mid-20s, you experience a whole round of wedding announcements, and then a whole round of baby announcements. My social circle seems kinda between the two waves at the moment.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Unfortunately, yes.

5. What countries did you visit?
Just the one I live in, but lots of new places within that one!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Seasons. A town (i.e. bookstore, yarn store, grocery store, Target) nearby closer than 1 1/2 hrs away. But, it looks like it'll be at least 2010 before any of that rolls around.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
first week of March - last day at Horrible Job
middle of March - arrived here in the desert
middle of July - adopted Scruffy
middle of November - Zion National Park - so majestic!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Does surviving my first summer in the desert in the middle of nowhere count?

9. What was your biggest failure?
That's for me to know and learn from, but not to share!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No injuries, thank goodness, other than the occasional karate bruising. More illnesses here in the desert, though, than I've had in a while! I guess my body just isn't used to it out here.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My iPod nano. Very spotty radio stations here (at the best, we get 6 decent ones, but usually it's about 4). I'd be going nuts in my quiet office and on all those long car drives into town if I didn't have my own music.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I don't even know where to begin on this one! Honestly!!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
A former co-worker's. Well, several of them, actually.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Life, really - savings, paying off my car, gas money (I live it southern California - it was EXPENSIVE!)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
leaving Horrible Job, paying off my car, 1 year anniversary with my husband :)

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
That stupid Danity Kane song that was so popular over the summer. Don't know the title, but you know the one I'm talking about - "fix it, fix it, fix it." Couldn't turn on a radio without it popping up at least once.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
Hmmm....
Happier to be out of Horrible Job and living with my husband, more frustrated (don't know about sadder) to be living in a very hot, very dry, very isolated sort of place. Better job, but more frustrating location - I guess I even out.
A little heavier than early 08, but about the same as early 07. Not my heaviest ever, but a little more than I want to be. Got down close to my goal weight end of 07/early 08, but then living with someone definitely changes your eating habits. :\ Oh well - 09 will be back on track again!!
Richer, I think, in more ways than one :)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Exercise over the summer.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Being lazy over the summer.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Very quiet - just me, Zach and the furries. He had to work Christmas week, so we couldn't get away this year. Maybe next year.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Scruffy! Big, lovable, furry nutcase :)
Oh, and with the same guy as the last 3 1/2 years ;)

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Don't watch much TV, really. Prefer movies.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I honestly try not to hate people, but there are some people I met this year, that if I never saw them again ever, I wouldn't be heartbroken.

24. What was the best book you read?

I don't know if it's the best book I read, but the book I got most excited about (well, series, really) was The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. I loved those books growing up, still enjoy them immensely, and I finally found a set of them using my birthday money.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
How much I would listen to an mp3 player. Not really musical, in terms of artists or anything, but I certainly play a lot of music on it!

26. What did you want and get?
To get out of Horrible Job. Seasons. Travel - someplace new and different - that wanderlust picking up again :)

27. What did you want and not get?
Seasons that occur where I live, not that I have to drive to. Well, I did get snow here, but I reeeeeeeeeeeeally missed seeing the leaves change color. (wistful sigh...)

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
We don't get many movies here (only a little 2 screen, second-run theater) and my Netflix is such a mix of new and old, so I haven't seen too many new movies. Did really like The Dark Knight and Run, Fatboy, Run, though.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Didn't do anything on my birthday, as it was the middle of the week and Zach was out of town, but we went down to Long Beach the following weekend.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Moisture! My skin feels it's absence...

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
"Is it possible to stay cool in a 100-degree office and still look professional?"

32. What kept you sane?
Knitting, reading, movies. Zach and the pets helped, but sometimes helped in the opposite direction too.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Am solidly a Christian Bale and a Hugh Jackman fan still. Became a new fan of Simon Pegg, too - very funny man.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The election in general.

35. Who did you miss?
All my friends and family back east.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Not just one person - many new friends here out west.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Any place can be miserable or enjoyable - it's all in what you make of it. Some places just take a little more making than others.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year
I dream of rain
I dream of gardens in the desert sand
I wake in vain
-"Desert Rose" - Sting

Your turn!

Sooo frustrating!

I hate being sick. And I seem to be sick here a lot.

Friday I took the day off, because between working the past four weekends, and Zach's schedule being completely crazy too, and both of us being sick last week (yeah - we get a holiday, and end up both being sick), well, our house looked rather a mess. So, we both had Friday off, and have been trying to get the place back in order. Was all set to have a regular weekend too - post had a Breast Cancer 5K on Saturday that we wanted to run, too. Would have been a great weekend, with a semblance of living in a real place again, not someplace beyond the edge of nowhere.

So what do I do? I come down Friday night with a fever, complete with chills and headache and the rest. Stupid germs.

I was feeling better by Saturday afternoon, but didn't run the 5K, as it would've been a horrible run, and probably sent me back to bed with that fever again. I've still managed to do lots of cleaning this weekend (our apartment is looking SOOO much better), but didn't get to do the run. Very frustrating. And because we're such a small place, it's now another month until the next 5K. There's a lot of stuff around here like that - you miss it once, and it's another month until the next event/meeting/whatever. Where I grew up was a big enough area, there were stretches of time where there was at least one race every week! Stupid fever.

We were talking at work, that everyone seems to get sick here a lot, and it's hard to shake off bugs. It's probably just because the desert is such a harsh place to live, that no one's immune system is faring too well. Just another joy of living in the desert, I suppose. :\

A confession

I'm a corporate sellout!!!!

(sigh)

Last week, a Starbucks opened on post. And I'm thrilled.

Now why am I so upset, do you ask? Well, I honestly don't like Starbucks coffee (too strong, maybe?), but I do like their seasonal lattes and the blended drinks. However, if I'm in an area where there are independent coffee shops, I prefer to patronize those instead. At college, we had Aroma's in Merchant's Square (delightfully right next door to where I worked!!). In SC, my apartment complex was right across the road from one which had a DELICIOUS chai latte. And then in VB, well... it's a bigger city (even bigger if you count the whole Hampton Roads metropolitan area) so there are plenty of anti-Starbucks options. So, in those places which had civilization, I could have my mocha frappacino without feeling like I was supporting Evil Corporate Empire.

However, I now live where there is no civilization. In fact, in the tiny post I live on, we actually do not even have any restaurants other than fast food, and not even many of those. At the moment, we have a Burger King, a Popeye's, a pizza place, a food court at the PX of 3 places (Baskin Robbins, pizza, sandwich), and Reggie's, which is kinda at the lower end of the Applebee's-Friday's-Ruby Tuesday's genre. Ooh, I almost forgot the sandwich counter at the bowling alley (more greasy fried stuff). See a lot of variety there? Thought not. We would have a Taco Bell, a take-out Chinese place and an Einstein Bros. Bagels, except they discovered roof damage in the building those three were in, and it's now closed awaiting repairs. Frustrating think is, the damage was discovered back about May, and it'll be March before the building's open again. Don't understand why Vegas can build 100-story hotels in the same amount of time it takes the Army to repair a small 1 story building. Lovely paperwork, I suppose :\

Anyhoo, as a result of our lovely array of dining options, I was actually very excited about Starbucks opening. Especially since it's only about a block from where I work (course, most things on post are about a block from where I work - not a big place). Doesn't make me feel any less of a corporate sell-out, but at least I have one more option if I want to grab lunch somewhere.

Still don't like their coffee, though.

Y'know, ironically, I do not have the same issues with 7-11 as I do with Starbucks, despite growing up in an area where there is a 7-11 literally about every 3 blocks. I've actually missed it the last few years (backwater SC did not a single 7-11 in the entire Upstate - very depressing). I guess you can always get other blended coffee drinks, but no one can duplicate the Slurpee!

Yet another downside to life in the desert

Produce.

I am getting soooooooo tired of the sad little produce we get here. I made a casserole for us last night, and it called for layers of tomatoes, zucchini, and then we added a layer of yellow squash, to make it good and veggie-ful. It came out really nicely, actually (the casserole, I mean)... but that's besides the point. We had to run to the store to get the last of the ingredients we needed (like the tomatoes, zucchini, and squash). At the store, they were the saddest little zucchini I've ever seen!!! A zucchini's 12 or 14 inches or so, usually, right? At least be the time you see them in the store, I mean. These were maybe 6 or 8, and tiny! (See the picture below as proof, just in case you think I'm exaggerating - that's a pen and my cell phone for scale) And as Zach pointed out, they were bendable! They were so small, they just kinda flopped around. And the yellow squash weren't much better. About as big, proportionately, and still kinda floppy. It was like someone picked them as soon as they were big enough to be recognizable as squash, and then shipped them over to us. It was very depressing.

And it's not just the squashes! Everything in the produce department is like that. The bananas are always BRIGHT green (I actually heard from someone at the grocery store 'in town' that people around here prefer them that way). But if you get them green and try to let them ripen a little, they'll start getting brown spots before they're even yellow! The berries are the same way, too. Zach would have to make sure he ate the whole thing of strawberries within a day of buying them, because they'd start getting reeeeeally soft if he let them go longer than that. Granted, that's not hard for him to do (man can eat his weight in strawberries in an afternoon!), but he shouldn't HAVE to make a concerted effort to eat it all in a day. And the lettuce, too. I haven't been able to buy just a head of lettuce in about a month. Now, I don't buy iceberg (not as good for you, and not as good tasting, either, at least in my opinion), so I'm looking at green leaf or red leaf or romaine. No other options around here, really. Anyway, none of those options has looked remotely good recently. Already wilting noticeably, and still on the store shelf! I'm having to buy bagged lettuce for Joey and me. Nothing against the bagged stuff (I actually like it for salads, nice and easy) but it's not so good for sandwiches. Being already chopped up as it is, the bagged lettuce just doesn't stay in a sandwich very well. Very frustrating.

Yes, I realize other towns in the desert aren't this bad, and I suppose this would be better if we were in an actual town and not just a tiny outpost on the furthest edges of civilization, but still! We only have one option for groceries here on post (the commissary), and as we don't have a nearby town, it's pretty much the only grocery store within a 45+ minute radius. Pretty sad. I guess they figure they can give us whatever is cheapest in the way of meats and produce, since (technically) the commissary's a privilege, and besides, it's not like we can just go next door to the competing grocery store and have some healthy competition going to ensure we get good service.

Yeah, just another reason I'm not gonna miss this place...

A cure for what ails ya'

So, today had some ridiculousness (wouldn't be a day at work if it didn't). Really, it was a simple problem that got blown out of proportion when we couldn't get any one to answer our questions. The one department around here which could have answered our questions easily, was involved in a big afternoon to-do (training, I think), leaving no one in the office to answer the phone with innocent questions (like ours). So, what could have been solved simply with one phone call, became a 11/2 hour ordeal of phone calls and run-around through people who didn't know much, as we tried to get some answers.

And oh, yeah, had a migraine today too, which all of the above nonsense didn't help.

Enter Anne to the rescue! An e-mail of nonsense stuff she's found, including the cutest little guys ever: baby bats! in blankets! Definitely cheered me up no end :)

These poor little guys were orphaned when a poisonous tick outbreak occurred in their colony. They were rescued, but needed to be kept warm, since baby bats cling to their mother and have her body warmth until they are old enough to survive on their own. So, they got bundled up by the rescue workers, to keep they nice and toasty. I particularly love the faces on the two in the middle of the top picture in that article :)

Fruit bats are really important ecologically (yes, the bio background is coming out here!) They important for pollination, like birds or insects. And as a caver, bats are naturally wonderful critters anyway, and fruit bats like these are actually really intelligent (besides being cute!) I've heard them described as about the intelligence level of a cat... Of course, watching Scruffy attack the shadows on the wall, I'm not sure how bright that actually is any more... ;)

It never rains, but it pours

So true in so many ways out here.

When the desert gets actual rain (not the ten drops, will-it-won't-it sort of rain), it easily turns in to flash floods. We had a storm a couple weeks ago, with flash floods washing out roads all through the area. Knocked out power here, too.. and in the few neighboring towns... and along the nearby Interstate for several miles. Yeah, it was a nasty one. Never want to be without power for 16 hrs again, in the desert, in July. Pretty rough day that was!

That saying's also true in my life right now. Part of why no posts this week. Work has been NUTS. Things breaking all over the facility. The lady at the Work Order desk must have gotten sick of my voice this week. "You again!?" " (sigh) Yeah, something new this time" I think I turned in more work orders this past week, than in any one given week since I started here in the spring.

Meanwhile, as the facility was breaking away in bits around us, people started going absolutely nutty. I swear, people get stupid when it's this hot. Patience and even tempers fly right out the window! We had patrons at the facility yelling at staff unprovoked, complaining no end. But, then the heat-craziness hit staff too. Staff getting stressed to the point of tears, threatening to quit, turning simple oversights or carelessness on the part of other staff into gigantic personal slights. Yes, we're a busy facility now, and yes, things are more stressful than they are during calmer seasons, but I'm tellin' ya - heat makes people irrational and angry!

Then, to cap off the week, our facility had to be shut all weekend when our equipment broke down. Pretty much the one piece that keeps us running smoothly decided Friday afternoon would be a great time to kick the bucket. Not in the fall, when we're scheduled to be closed for maintenance anyway. No, no. Now, when we're busy. Of course.

Yeah, it was a fun week.

Oh, and in the midst of all this, I was sick, with a medicine that made me even sicker. Yes, it made me healthy again, but the side effects were not fun. The sort of ones that aren't enough to change medicines, but enough to make you decidedly uncomfortable. Remember, a week of constant, low-level nausea and exhaustion makes any stressful work week more enjoyable!

So, yes - it never rains but it pours. Flash floods outside, stressful work week inside. Ben says it's because I'm embracing my new environment's philosophy in all aspects of my life. I say I'm counting down the days til we're living in a rational climate again!! :)

Review: Troy

So, happy belated 4th of July to all you folks out there. Hope it was fun for you. Zach and I went camping over in Mojave National Park. Yes, we're the crazy people who went camping in the desert in July, but it really wasn't as bad as all that (actually cooler than here on post, since it's at a higher elevation!). Once again, I have pictures forthcoming of our fun trip. I should be getting them up this week, along with the pictures from Vegas a few weeks ago. Zach's working late this week, so I actually get time on the computer all to myself, without anyone pestering! Huzzah!

Anyway, since it's Movie Monday, time for the What We're Watching list to be updated :) So, after a string of some pretty good movies, we had one that was only OK. This week's movie: Troy.

According to the blurb on Netflix, the movie is based on the Illiad. You all know the story - Trojan War, epic heroes, Odysseus and his wooden horse, Achilles and his snit with Agamemnon, and that whole heel thing. Calling the movie "based on" the Illiad would be a stretch - "inspired by" is probably better terminology.

The casting was pretty well done. Orlando Bloom can strike me as too much of a pretty boy sometimes, but here he played Paris. Pretty Boy is called for. Brian Cox was Agamemnon, and let's face it - I've loved his voice since the Sharpe's series on BBC. The whole suppressed power, sort of purring voice. The kind of voice you just let read - give him a phone book, a dictionary, whatever. That kind of voice. Even better in a soft Irish accent, a la his character in Sharpe's, but unfortunately, Irish was not called for here. :( Peter O'Toole was Priam - very nice in the pained, dignified old monarch role. Sean Bean was Odysseus (Ulysses on the Netflix DVD slip - VERY WRONG!! That's the Roman name!!!!!! Yes I am a dork...) That casting made me happy. I like Sean Bean (again, since the Sharpe's series), and somehow he ends up getting cast as a villain a lot in American movies - National Treasure, Patriot Games, even in Fellowship of the Ring he was Boromir! Seeing him as a beloved good guy was a nice change. The actor that surprised me was Eric Bana, playing Hector. He was actually very much as I would have pictured Hector - a little brooding, responsible, dutiful, heroic, kind... Good choice there.

My biggest gripe with the cast was Brad Pitt as Achilles. He just grated on me for some reason. I realize that Achilles is in a snit through most of the story anyway, but even before the war started, in the preliminary scenes, Achilles just squinted and pouted and killed people in battle. Maybe Brad Pitt is one of those actors who just don't work in period pieces. You know, those actors that look wonderful in certain eras (mostly 20th century), but put them in say, Jane Austen's England, or Ancient Greece, or Tudor England, and it just doesn't work. They just belong in a certain setting and it doesn't work for them otherwise. Maybe that's why I didn't like him in it - too modern-American sounding and acting to gel with the ancient battle. At any rate, he was definitely the one that didn't seem to fit as well in the setting. Oh, and Helen definitely wasn't pretty enough to launch a thousand ships. Pretty, yes, but not as beautiful as she could have been - personally, Andromache was prettier.

The directing was alright. There were some things that were very nicely handled, and some that irked me. The music choice got a little old after a while. The director really like the wailing wordless mournful female-voiced songs in the background. It was very effective in the sacking of Troy scenes, but it needs to be used a bit more sparingly than what was done here. As far as the filming went, it was beautifully shot. Nice and epic, and the CG effects were not overpowering.

My biggest gripe overall was playing fast and loose with the original mythology!! I do like some movies that play with the mythology (Clash of the Titans, Disney's Hercules), but even in those, the major discrepancies irk me. I know that may sound very silly, but I took 6 years of Latin, and have always loved mythology. Must have been that little series of books we had on our shelves as kids, covering a bunch of the Greco-Roman myths. The stories are so good to begin with - they've lasted for 1000s of years, for crying out loud! They don't need Hollywood's re-editing to make them 'more entertaining.'

Some of my grievances with their separation from the original material are smaller, but some are major. For instance... THE TROJAN WAR WAS 10 YEARS!!!! It was a frickin' siege! The Illiad begins after 9 years of besieging the city of Troy. In the movie, the war seems to last about 3 weeks, from the landing on the beaches to the wooden horse and the sacking of Troy. I realize that filming a 9 year siege isn't possible for the filming or for keeping audiences entertained, but some little note at the bottom of the screen would have been nice.

Some of the more minor grievances...

• Aeneas (who makes a brief appearance during the sacking of Troy scenes) was about 18, a youth. In the Aeneid, he's in his 30s or early 40s - his SON was a youth. He's mentioned as one of the heroes who fought valiantly during the battles, and the teenager who made his cameo in Troy was certainly not old enough to be fighting. At least they got that he was helping his father escape too...
• Menelaus does not die at Troy, but returns to Sparta with Helen. A nice movie scene (particularly emphasizing how much a coward Paris was, which is accurate) but still, he didn't die.
  
• Agamemnon did not die in Troy. I know that makes for a nice just-rewards scene in the movie, but really, he did make it home from Troy (where he was killed by his wife and her lover, but that's another story).
• Achilles did not die during the sacking of Troy, but in battle before the wooden horse was built. There was actually another tiff amongst the Greeks over who would get his armor and shield. He was indeed killed by Paris, and the whole arrow-in-the-heel story, but there was no running through the streets looking for Briseis, no Paris killing Achilles in front of her, etc. Again, makes for good movie, but irks the classicist.
  
• Likewise, if Achilles died before Troy was sacked, so did Paris.... except in this movie. I always particularly liked Paris' death, as it seemed he deserved it so much, for all the trouble he caused. In case you didn't know, he was shot by a poisoned arrow, then tried to go back to his wife, a nymph, who had medicine to cure it. Because he had abandoned her to run off with Helen (and then forgot her for 10 years until he needed her again), she refused, and so he died. Frankly, he deserved it. But, killing Orlando Bloom as a shmuck on-screen probably wouldn't have gone over too well with the fangirl population.
• I did like the Trojan horse. Very ominous and foreboding looking (made from the black wood of the ships). However, I missed Laocoon getting crushed by the serpents sent by Athena because he doubted that the horse was genuine. The movie overall, avoided the gods-and-goddesses aspect of the story. That's alright, I suppose - just a different interpretation of the story (also keeps it a bit simpler for the big screen). I missed some of those aspects, like why Achilles was invincible, but it wasn't as distracting to me as the 9 years of siege being glossed over.
  

Anyhoo... overall, I'd say maybe 2.5 of 5. It wasn't a bad movie, and most of the cast was really good. It was beautifully filmed, nice and beautifully epic. Really, it was the fast-and-loose mythology that put me off the most. Some stories don't need Hollywood-ification to make them acceptable. Frankly, I'm the type of person who likes books, and likes movies, and likes movies based on books. I like seeing characters I love in my head come to life on screen. However, when a movie is made of a beloved story, there are a few criteria to be met in order to keep me happy. The movie must stand alone (I shouldn't have to have read the book recently to understand what's going on in the movie) but it should still reflect the original material. Some good examples: Lord of the Rings, Princess Bride, Pride and Prejudice (the A&E/BBC Colin Firth version). This one stands alone, but strays too much from the original material for me to be happy.

On the subject of rude people

Really, just a vent to get out.

So, we were trying to go to Six Flags this past weekend, on Mother's Day. They were running a special, so that people with season's passes got a free guest ticket on Mother's Day. Apparently not as many moms want to spend Mother's Day at a theme park (though, it wouldn't surprise me at all if my own mom wanted to spend 'her' day riding roller coasters!). Anyway, a friend from work's family (really, his in-laws) got season's passes this year, and he invited us to come along for the day, enjoy the benefits of the extra tickets.

The story continues, that we all met up on Saturday for a small get-together, and there was much discussion of the time we were meeting at the park on Sunday. Now, the in-laws, when Zach and I met them, were really some of the rudest people. Granted there was a lot of other stuff going on, so I understand their being busy, but it was really like we weren't there. Some spoke to us for only the initial introductions, and some never spoke to us at all. Our friend says that's actually pretty normal for them - they barely speak to HIM sometimes, and he married into the family!! And, in all of the discussion of times for the theme park, it was repeated, rudely and within our hearing, "Now make sure your friends are there on time." As if they already knew that they would be waiting around impatiently for us the next morning! (You just can't appreciate the rudeness of the comment over the internet, but trust me, it was!)

Meanwhile, this family (not our friend, but his in-laws) just bickered like crazy! It was as if that was how they regularly communicated with each other! It was becoming uncomfortable and awkward for Zach and I sitting in the next room with our friend listening to it all! Should have warned us of what was to come.

So, the final chapter of this story is the events on Sunday. Zach and I woke up early and hit the road right on time to drive the 2 1/2 hrs over to Six Flags and be there at 9:30ish, as agreed upon the night before. We were both really looking forward to being there, riding the roller coasters, all that fun stuff. So we get there about 9:40, meet up with our friend, and head to the main gate. Now here's the kicker - once we were at the park, we had to wait nearly 3 HOURS for the in-laws to arrive!!!! Our friend had come separately, and the in-laws were supposed to be right behind. It was almost 12:30 before they reached gate! The ones who had been making such a fuss the day before were the ones we had to wait 3 hours for!! They called at about 11:15 that they were in line to pay for parking, and then it was nearly an HOUR from that point til when they reached the gate!! How much bickering did they have to do to make it take THAT long to get from the parking lot to the main gate?? The park isn't that big, and it wasn't that busy on Sunday (I know - I sat and watched people come in the main gate for 3 hrs!) And we had to wait even longer for them to get their season passes verified and get the vouchers for the free tickers! By the time it was almost 1 o'clock, we'd been waiting there since 9:40, and had yet to even ENTER the park!!

Our friend's wife was very apologetic - I think she realizes how trying her family is. From the family, however, the closest we got to an apology was from the dad: "I'm sorry Michelle didn't coordinate the times better." Immediately trying to switch the blame to someone else, as if our friend and we had gotten the time wrong, that it was supposed to be 12:30 that we met!

Well, Buddy, just let me respond: The only times that were discussed were 9:30 and 10 am - period. No one ever talked about us all meeting at 12. You were all very focused on being there early, even to the point of insulting us! Besides, we would've remembered if it meant we got 3 extra hours of sleep! And as a final thought for you, Mr. Rude Sir, before we left the party the night before, YOU were the last person we talked to, and YOU reminded us again about being there early, since there were so many good rides to hit!

Zach and I actually left without entering the park. It was almost 1, we were starving, and the in-laws were still picking up the vouchers for us. We couldn't take it any more. Even if we just stuck around long enough to enter the park, and then headed out on our own once inside, I doubt either of us could have remained civil towards those people if we'd run into them in the park. It's one thing to be late, but to be 3 hrs late (and it takes less than 3 hrs to drive here in the first place!), never call to let us know they left late or were running late or anything, and then never apologize, even try to shift the blame to someone else? It was more than we could take. Our friend has to deal with them, but we don't! (As he says, though, he knew his wife was the right girl for him, when he met her horrible family and still wanted to be with her!)

And as a side note, I guess all of this combines to remind me how lucky I am both with my own family, and with my in-laws. We're all a bit nutty, but in the best of ways. I'm not saying we're perfect, but it's nothing like this family was. We have arguments from time to time, but there's no constant bickering, or mean pettiness, and none of this Jerry Springer, trailer park trash sort of nonsense. Seeing my friend's in-laws, I realize I really am very lucky!!

(gasp)....water.... water!

Yeah, I'm over this whole 'desert' thing... I had dry skin in the humid Southeast, and now I'm supposed to survive in the desert!?!?! My nose keeps bleeding, my feet are cracked and painful, and I'm surprised my hands haven't totally fallen off. And we're here for 2 more years?? Bah...

Heck, even Joey's suffering from the dryness. He's so fuzzy, that the dryness means he's static charged like CRAZY. You really notice it when you're petting him and you hear the static charges crackle, or when he's eating on his shelf, and lot of little hay bits will stick to him. Poor little hayface. Neither of us were built for the desert...

Yeah, I'm just grumpy tonight.

So how was YOUR day today?

Mine was rough. Productive, but rough.

Had to go to my drug test for the new job. No waiting at all! They were ready for me in about as much time as it took me to sit down and pull out my book! I was so surprised. When I had to go in SC, I waited nearly an hour - my bladder was about to burst!! Here, I just walked right in! Hey, maybe being in a small town does have some advantages ;)

But then, the DMV.... For the new job, I have to have a CA driver's license. Fine, no problem. The DMV however had the HUGEST line! I waited for nearly 1 1/2 hrs just to get INSIDE!! Overall, it took me over 2 1/2 hrs (close to 3!!) to go through the line and get my license. The way the office was set up, it moved rather quickly once you were inside, but it just took forever to get inside. Apparently yesterday was a state holiday (Cesar Chavez day, I think someone said??), so the state offices were closed. Which means everyone came in today to get their licenses or registrations or whatever else they needed taken care of. I'm glad I didn't drive 'into town' yesterday. I'd've been very frustrated to drive 40 minutes into Barstow and find out the office I needed was closed. Still, there were people in line around me who'd come up from Apple Valley. They'd been to the office in Victorville first this morning, and said that that line was even worse than the one in Barstow!! Still, I did get everything done and my new license should be arriving soon (don't know why CA mails it out to you, but they do).

I think I've been spoiled by the DMV back in VA. The one near our house there was one of the newer ones. People didn't think to go there, so it was never packed. And there were plenty of counters (being new and all) - the whole range of counters weren't always open, but they were there. I have actually seen really busy days when most of them were open - was very surprised. I remember talking with one of the guys in my office in SC who had lived in VA near where I grew up. He and I agreed that the DMV offices there were pretty efficient, especially compared to the SC ones which were HORRIBLE! The CA one was bad, in that it had a long wait, but it went pretty smoothly - just needed twice as many people working the counters today. SC would have long waits, and still be inefficient.

(sigh) The DMV.... a necessary evil, I guess. But! At least I'm done with them for a while now! I'm a California girl now! Or something like that...

Oh, and if you're still having a hard time visualizing just how long I was waiting in line there, here's what I was working on:

I cast on a few minutes after I joined the line, and worked on it until I reached the head of the line. It's almost done. Just a dishcloth, but it's still almost done. It's the Finder's Keepers Pattern (mid-Feb from the KAL), but worked in a light blue and a light blue ombre. You can't always see the slip-stitch pattern, but it was an easy pattern I remembered off-hand there in line (something besides garter stitch!) and I think it has an interesting look to it, so I'm not totally displeased :)

Am I a horrible person?

My office is giving me a good-bye party tonight, and I'm not going to go. Does that make me a horrible person? Before you get on my case about 'office solidarity' and 'team-building' and such things, I have a series of very good reasons for skipping out. Please read through

1. My friends at work are not going to be there. Two are out of town on jobs, one now works for another company, and one has an eye appointment this afternoon where his pupils will be dilated (translation: he'll be veeeery out of it). My last friend here at the office isn't going to go if no one else is, so we jointly decided not to go :) We had our going away party on Saturday for that reason - big ol' cookout at Tom's, where I had a chance to hang out with and say good-bye to people I'll actually want to keep in touch with.
2. The people who will be there are ones I either (A) don't like, (B) detest, or (C) am so indifferent to, it doesn't matter (we've got a handful of non-entities here in the office) To give you an idea of how well these people know me, my office manager was even laughing that I'd have an excuse if I wanted to "get plastered" tonight and not come in tomorrow. Being very friendly and all, but has the man ever seen me drink a beer? How the heck am I going to get wasted on a beverage I can't stand the taste of?
3. I was never asked where I wanted to go. The decision was made for me. Don't think I'm sulking about it - it just means that as a result, we're heading to a bar I don't like. It's not a bad place to go, good assortment of pool tables and games and such, but it's inconvenient for me and it's a microbrew-specialty place. They actually don't have a liquor license, so no 'hard stuff' - nothing but beer and wine. Oh, wait - I don't like beer OR wine. I don't drink much, but the drinks I do like are mostly mixed drinks, shots, and liqueurs.
4. I've a bunch of stuff to finish up in the packing line of things. I need to do laundry (I don't want to move more dirty clothes than I have to - would rather pack them clean) and pack up a lot of the stuff I've been using this past week. Mom and Zach visited last weekend and we got most of my stuff packed up, but I still had to leave out a bunch of stuff that I was going to use this week - pots and clothes and bathroom stuff and the like.
5. It's not just a going-away party for me. It's also celebrating an office-record-sales month. So, if I don't go, it's not like the 'excuse' for the party is not going to be there. All they need is a reason to get together and drink beer on the company dime - I've given them the excuse, now no need for me to be there.

So, in summary, I think these are good enough reasons to skip out. I have things I'd rather be doing (or simply need to do) than hang out watching people I don't like get drunk.

I think I get so frustrated about this because I don't like feeling guilty for not 'playing the game.' I don't like hanging out with these people, but somehow you can feel like you're not 'part of the team' if you don't go along and do these things. If I had my choice, I'd never see most of these people outside the office EVER. But over the two years here, I've gamely gone to the Christmas parties, the office celebrations, the good-bye parties, and occasional happy hours, like any good little corporate peon. And I've suffered through every minute of it. It's not so much a happy hour for me, as an hour-of-impatiently-watching-my-watch-waiting-til-enough-time-has-been-spent-at-the-bar-for-me-to-leave-gracefully. I just can't stand those things. So, since I don't have to kiss anyone's rear around here any more, I'm not gonna go (not that I ever did much ass-kissing 'round here - more trying to be so low profile, no one notices me). Time to show that I DO have a backbone!

On the other hand, going and getting completely trashed and chewing out every moron working here would be kinda refreshing... Too bad I'm a sleepy drunk and not an angry one. There's probably something nice and cathartic about tearing into idiots you don't have to be polite to anymore....

Moving is such Fun!

If you can't hear the sarcasm in the title, please let me try again:
Moving is such FUN! :D :D :D

It's not the relocation that's the problem; I'm actually looking forward to that. I know Ft. Irwin is small and in the middle of nowhere, but at least it's close enough to big cities and parks and things so that you might not feel quite so isolated. I mean, yes, it's quite out there, but you can get to a lot of places for a good day trip. A lot of things to take advantage of within easy distance. I know I said that about Greenville, too, but the people are a bit different on a military base than in smaller-city South Carolina. And everything I've heard about the Ft. Irwin community is positive - you're all in the same boat, so the community is very supportive as a result. And there's always the added bonus of getting me out of Horrid Job here in Greenville! :)

It's the actual process of moving that's starting to get to me now. I'm in my last 2 weeks here in SC, and it feels like there are 8 million things to do, with time to do about 6. Not 6 million... 6. Yeah.... not a fun feeling. I am trying to get things sorted and cleaned up and cleaned out, get travel arrangements lined up, prepare for leaving this job and starting a new one... Quite a to-do list. And to make things even worse, my stupid response to to-do lists like this is a crushing, paralyzing sort of feeling. I struggle against it and get maybe 2 things done, but can't get over the feelining like I'm climbing Everest. Bah! At least I can recognize it for what it is, and not just get lost in the wallowing. :\

Doesn't help, either, that it's an Army move. It's so hard for Zach and I to get answers to questions when I can do so little to help. We still are in separate houses, with him finishing up training in Columbia, and me still here in Greenville. With Columbia being the military area and Greenville definitely not being one, it's very hard for me to help Zach get questions answered. He can actually stop by offices to pester people. Of course, that doesn't mean he gets helpful answers, either. They seem to have the biggest hang-up over moving from 2 locations. Don't seem to get that we just got married and haven't combined households yet - that doesn't mean it's not his stuff!!

Just have to take deep breaths and keep pluggin' away. Sort, sort, pack, pack... It'll all be over in a couple weeks - by March 22, we'll be out in CA!

Life goes on, doesn't it?

Well, today was the first day of work without Amy. I'm so very happy for her, but I have to remind myself repeatedly that it's only for a few more weeks that I have to stick it out here alone. I was tired and grumpy at work and not feeling well, and I didn't have my e-mail buddy in the office to pass time with. :(

Meanwhile, the office is trying to adjust to having her gone. It's going to be interesting. Tom is another in our department, floats between the environmental work and the industrial hygiene (IH) work, but really wants to do IH. Keeps getting promised more IH work, but with Amy and I both leaving, though, neither Tom nor I feel he's going to be seeing much IH coming his way. Instead, he'll end up filling in environmental roles for an undetermined length of time. Very frustrating for him. He's another like me - recently out of school, trying to get some time on his resume at a 'real job', and just having to stick it out for a little more at the horrible company that let us get our foot in the door. Thankfully, he'll have a year at our company in March, about the time I leave, so hopefully that'll help get his foot in the door somewhere else, someplace where they might appreciate him a little more. It's sad that there's this mass exodus in the works in our department, but that's really just showing you how this company treats the environmental and IH staff (i.e. the 'non-engineers') We can stick around just long enough to get the experience that'll get us into jobs where they'll treat us better.

And if that wasn't enough of a Monday, some of the intra-office politics (particularly that in our department) was coming into play today too. Ridiculousness that, thankfully, I wasn't dragged into, but it's tiring when you hear it going on around you. Just a draining day.

And, if that wasn't enough of a Monday at work, I slammed my hand in a door at lunchtime. Feel like a moron about it. It was very windy today (beautiful day otherwise, though) and I was going into a store at lunchtime. A gust of wind blew by as I was going in the door and the door slammed shut, catching my hand in the door. Hurt like the dickens!!! I've got the start of a bruise across the knuckles of my right hand, and it hurt to type most of the afternoon. Feeling a bit better now, but still very sore to the touch and, like I mentioned, bruising. Good thing it was my right hand, though, and not my left, or I'd've really spent a miserable afternoon!

At any rate, I'm in the field tomorrow. Yay! I'm drilling at a site down an hour or so away from here, with lousy cell reception and enough work to keep me out of the office all day. I've got a good driller, and a straightforward site to drill. So, for at least one day this week, can escape the office and the computer with its never-ending stream of database reviews! (Yes, we're still wading through those...)