I have a splitting headache

So I've taken some Tylenol and I am going to lie down for a bit.  Hope I don't miss the ball drop.  I'll set a couple of alarms to make sure.

Yay! I'm off work tomorrow and I have lots of stuff planned (subject to change, of course)

Things I have to do sometime either tonight or tomorrow:
1. Two weeks’ of game notes.
2. A book review.
3. Straighten up the bedroom.
4. Sort laundry.
5. Give a libation of honey to Hekate for the turning of the year.
6. Water the plants.
7. Fill the fish tanks and work on the pumps for each.

Things I’d like to do:
1. Read.
2. Watch some DVDs (including ‘Downton Abbey’, which I am terribly behind on.
3. Listen to some music.
4. Have a quiet evening at home.
5. Watch the New York ball drop at midnight tonight, either on my phone (yes, there’s an application for that), or on TV.

No alcohol, parties, etc., but then I don't like to be out on the roads with the drunks on New Year's Eve. Happy New Year! May it be bright and wonderful and bring you happiness and blessings. It's so hard to believe we're just a few hours from 2015!

Good grief

I put my phone on fingerprint lock last night and got locked out this morning,  and couldn't remember the other password,  my Google password,  etc.  My PIN was not an option.  After so many tries,  only the alternative password will work.  So I had to go to a store and have it factory reset. I mostly had music and pictures on an SD card,  so that was fine. So I have been downloading lots of apps from Google and Amazon and getting my customising settings back.  Needless to say,  I've gone back to a PIN lock. Also,  of course,  YKWIA and A laughed their butts off.  Sheesh.

Well

I had a decent day at work today, although it was a little hard to go back after having five days off, and I can’t say I was fully into it, although I was productive and such. It wasn’t horribly busy in scheduling, and everyone who isn’t on maternity leave was there, so we didn’t really get behind like a couple of weeks ago. I managed to get my charges in, but I still have some work to do on the referrals and reconciliation of surgery charges to catch up on from being off Friday, but I should be able to do that tomorrow. I checked my personal time off and once Christmas Eve, Christmas, the 26th, and New Year’s are accounted for, I should still have about two-and-a-half days left, and I’ll get about 10 hours on this next cheque in addition, so almost four days. I’m tempted to take January 2nd off, but I really should try to keep building up time and do something other than using it for doctors’ appointments.

I also tried to figure out exactly what was going on with that cheque I sent the other day through overnight (excuse me, it’s now called priority express) mail. Turns out it made it to New York but they just left a notice on Saturday because no one was there to receive it, even though I’d asked the postal clerk who waited on me if they would leave it since I hadn’t requested a signature and he said they would. It hadn’t been re-delivered as of 4 pm. I checked with the post office, and the recipient has to request re-delivery, it looks like, so it’s possible that the letter I spent $20 to get there as soon as possible might be delayed further. It has to be there by sometime on the 31st. So I called the company I was sending it to and spent 35 minutes on hold between two extensions to be told that if for some reason the letter does not reach them by the 31st, the loan I’m trying to pay on will not automatically default as of January 1st, most likely, anyway, and she noted on my account that I had sent it Friday by priority express mail. I feel a little better, but I’m pretty darn frustrated. While tracking is a wonderful thing, it seems to mess up any of my dealings with the post office. For example, if I order an item from Amazon or somewhere like that and they send it with tracking—even with something on the outside saying the carrier should leave the package if no answer—I simply cannot get it at my apartment, even though we have four postal containers for packages. Instead, I have to have it sent to work, and I don’t know exactly what to do when I no longer have a job there, as the main mail stores around here aren’t open late, such as after normal business hours, and if I have to go over to someplace near the post office, well, I might as well get a PO box at the actual post office, the nearest of which is a quarter of the way around town.

I tried to get some medication for some friends and myself today, but unfortunately wasn’t able to get to their house and then over to the pharmacy before they closed, so I’ll be going directly from work tomorrow in the hopes of getting it. YKWIA and I are also going to make a promised cake for someone whose birthday was back in October, but we had some issues (I was sick, for example) during that time and we weren’t able to make it. The goal is to get it done before the end of the year, so tomorrow I’m going to the grocery and get a few dairy items so we can do that. Tonight I fixed some fish and rice for a friend and we watched another episode of ‘Hart of Dixie’ on Netflix. I must admit, the show is really growing on me.

Now I’m home, the Christmas lights are on, and I’m trying to catch up on writing on this blog. I also need to finish a book review and work on the game notes in the next few days.

YKWIA found a video earlier that was just hilarious, by ‘Saturday Night Live’. Trust them to take the whole torture report and make things actually funny. I especially like the jab at Time Warner Cable:



I laughed myself silly. Okay, I should probably sign off for the night. Hope you have a great new year!

In the last couple of days I have

1. Gone to the library.
2. Returned a few library books.
3. Paid my electric bill while I was there.
4. Tried to set up a bill pay through my bank, but it wouldn't allow me a date earlier than the absolute last day it was due.
5. Took my cable/internet equipment back to Time Warner Cable and explained that I was cancelling service.
6. Went to the bank and got a cashier's cheque.
7. Mailed an overnight envelope with the important bill in it, to the tune of $20 for postage.
8. Drove to Danville.
9. Visited with my mom and her family overnight.
10. Read part of a book on my Kindle.
11. Exchanged gifts.
12. Returned to Lexington.
13. Decompressed over at a friend's house.
14. Took a friend to the grocery store.
15. Watched a Netflix movie with a friend.
16. Visited to nearly 2 am.
17. Went over at 9 am to get their house ready for the game.
18. Played the game.
19. Talked about some issues that came up during my visit with my mom.

Now I'm home, listening to music, and preparing for bed. Hope you had a good holiday break. It seems weird to be going back to work after a five-day break, but it's good to have been off.

For a goy

I make a mean latke,  whether potato with shallots or a cheese style that had lemon zest and had you separate the eggs and beat the whites before adding them to the mixture.

Today was fun.  We visited,  I helped rearrange some things in my friend's library,  and then I made the latkes,  which everyone enjoyed.  I doubled both recipes,  thankfully,  or there wouldn't have been enough.

I got a shirt from another friend as part of that package that says 'You are about to exceed the limits of my medication',  which I love. Thank you Tammy.

Okay,  I have to figure out my agenda/itinerary for tomorrow.  Hope you had a good holiday. 

Up

Actually, I've been trying to get up since about 5:30 am, when I woke up the first time and then about every half-hour after that. Apparently you can take the girl out of Christmas, but not take the Christmas out of the girl, even if she is pagan, in her mid-forties, and seriously not expecting any presents from Santa this year. For those of you who celebrate it, though, may you have a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year!

Reading

By the way,  if you have an Android phone or tablet or a Kindle Fire,  go to the Amazon store and pick up today's free application,  a narrated,  animated version of the story (in English)  that is normally $4.99. It'll probably be free till about 3 am EST,  or Midnight Pacific time.

I just have

The holiday lights on.  I've been burning a spruce-scented candle.  I've cleaned up all of the house except the bedroom,  which I'll try to work on Saturday.  It's mostly finding places for clothes. I've taken out two bags of trash and four of recyclables.  I've shredded two bags of documents.   I feel like I've accomplished quite a bit today.  I've been listening to the radio (non-Christmas music,  mostly).   Now I'm considering reading for awhile, and then turning in by ten or eleven.  I probably won't blog more tonight.  So take care,  have a wonderful night,  and may you enjoy whatever holiday you celebrate with people you love and who love you as well.

By the way

in 24 posts from now, I will be celebrating 10,000 posts since October 2001. Ten thousand. Wow!

Well, I'm chugging along

The package was over at their house when I got there, so I snagged that. I called and left a message for them so they'd know, and then I called my mom and arranged the visit with her. I'm sitting here with the tree all lit up (okay, so yes, my holiday was Sunday, but still...I'm in the holiday spirit), and I have everything ready for latkes tomorrow. Friday morning I'm going to work on the bills and other errands I have, and then head to Danville sometime in the afternoon to see my mom. Saturday I'll work on the game notes and finish up working on the house, hopefully. Sunday there's the game prep and the game.

Google Now on my phone sends me cards with stories it thinks I might like, and today there was one on Samsung producing a video with emphasis on the fact that the Samsung Galaxy S5 (which I have) is water-resistant, that I thought was cute. There's also one about the phone and Christmas sweaters. I'm not a Christmas sweater kind of girl, but I did find it interesting. Let me share them here:





Yes, silly, I know.

Okay, it's time to get back to doing things around here, and wrapping a present for my mom that I cleverly found a way to provide without current funds. In case I don't write again, if you do celebrate Christmas, may you have a wonderful 'silent night' and enjoy your holiday, and also I hope everyone who celebrates Chanukah had a fun time with it.

So

Turns out one bill I have absolutely must be paid by the 31st or Very Bad Things will happen. Mailing the payment was a bust.  I called the nearest post office,  but they were closed.  I went to 'my' post office,  which is over between Tates Creek and Nicholasville roads, so really nowhere near me.  I was going to overnight my payment,  even though it would be $20 and I needed to use a kiosk because the regular desk was closed,  and re-read my instructions to find I needed to enclose a cashier's cheque instead of a regular one.  I had seen a sign on the door of my bank the other day that made me think they were closed on Christmas eve,  so that was that,  I couldn't do anything till Friday.  So I went and got the things for latkes and some gas ($1.77 a gallon with Kroger points!),  noticing that the bank was actually open.  But I was back by my apartment and didn't want to go halfway across town again to mail it.

Also the cable office is closed today,  so I can't take care of that till Friday.  And the electric company and library are closed today too,  so I can't do any of that until then.  Oh,  well.

I'm going back out in a bit to check on that package.  Otherwise it's just working on the house and checking in with my mom regarding our visit.  I've cleaned the kitchen and washed all the dishes.  But there's still a lot to do.  But right now,  I'm going to take a break.

It was nice

To sleep in until 9 this morning,  although I've already had two phone calls from creditors today.  The good thing is I did get paid today,  but I can't really talk to them until I work out how much I can pay and to whom.  But I should mostly get caught up.

First order of business is to eat breakfast (I did stop by the store last night late and get a few things,  seeing as the deposit would hit very soon.  I try not to do that,  but hey,  sometimes you do have to.)  Then I need to work on some things around here. Later I need to work on the finances,  find out if the cable company is open so I can return their equipment,  and go by my friends' house to see if a package bearing gifts for all three of us was delivered,  as it is rainy and they will be visiting family,  so they're afraid someone might take it.

I also need to check my latke recipes and get the ingredients,  as the stores will be closing early today. I'm going to make some for my friends,  one of whom is Jewish and the rest of us just love them,  even though Chanukah ends today,  I think.  I'll make them tomorrow when we spend some time together,  so better late than never. I make both potato and cheese lakes,  and I personally prefer the latter.

I also need to get more gas in the car for visiting my family.  Yesterday my friend gave me $5 while we were running errands.  That brought the tank from the gas light on to nearly a quarter,  as the gas was $2.00 a gallon and I went ahead and used some points for 10 cents off.  I have an additional 30 cents off (I use two cards) I can use today.  Amazing though--I haven't seen prices like this in years,  even when I worked at a gas station.  I remember it being $4.15 a gallon and we had drive offs galore.

Okay,  I should get going if I'm to get anything on my list completed.  Hope you're off today,  too.

I must admit

that is is more convenient to use a cable connexion for the Internet, rather than posting via my phone or using my laptop tethered to my phone or as my phone as a hotspot, hence the fact that I haven't blogged over the last few days. Plus, I've been pretty busy over the weekend, and I basically have come home and just crashed. Today I expected to do just that. I was in check-out again, for one, and then went over to my friends' house to work on something that lasted till 10 pm. But I came home and popped some popcorn for dinner, ate a clementine (hey, they were about all I had, except for some oatmeal and some canned spinach), and then had some hot chocolate. Fortunately I would normally be paid on Christmas, but instead will be paid Christmas Eve, or even, hopefully, near midnight tomorrow, so I can take care of some bills that have been piling up and causing my phone to ring 12 or more times a day. But tomorrow is my last day to work this week. I have a lot to do while I'm off:

1. Pay bills.
2. Take back my cable box and modem.
3. Really work on the house.
4. Fix latkes for a friend for Chanukah.
5. Work on a project with him rearranging his library desk.
6. Go visit my mom.
7. Finish the game notes.
8. Play the game.
9. Return a book to the library.

So there's a couple of videos I enjoyed over the weekend, one found by Brenda and the other by YKWIA, that I'd like to share here:

First, the one Brenda told us about:



and then YKWIA found this very sweet love song:



Hope you enjoy them. Okay, it is getting late. One more day of work before I get a five-day break, so I should get to bed and get up early and do well. Good night!

Apparently

I am more likely to keep my cool under pressure while wearing a Santa hat. I wore one today because our holiday countdown theme for the day was bells,  and I have a bell tied to the hat.  I was also in a red blouse,  which is rare for me.

The day was very busy.  We were one person down due to illness,  plus the three on maternity leave.  I was in checkout for the third day in a row, and was there until 3:45. I even ate lunch while I answered the phones.  (Our boss got us lunch from Columbia's.)  So once I left that department I took the time to hydrate,  check the regular mail,  that sort of thing.  I had come in an hour early to get some things done,  mainly for the library.  So for tomorrow I should be able to play catch up on the data entry and library stuff,  plus some things left over from scheduling.  We're also having a potluck/Secret Santa exchange.

I perked up a bit after work,  but now I'm losing steam.  So I think it's time to say good night.

Cowards and barbarians

Taliban Militants Attack Pakistan School: More Than 140 People, Mostly Schoolchildren, Are Killed at Military-Run School in Peshawar

Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in northwestern Pakistan and killed at least 141 people, methodically shooting schoolchildren in the head and setting fire to some victims in a horrifying 9-hour rampage.

Shahrukh, a 17-year-old survivor of Tuesday’s attack in Peshawar, said many students were assembled in the school auditorium when the gunmen burst in and started spraying bullets. He was shot in both legs and fell to the ground.

“I saw them set one of our teachers on fire in front of me,” he said.

That's the only way I can describe those who would do this, particularly in the name of God.

Another really busy day, and tomorrow should be even more so

We were down two people today in scheduling, so I stayed until 2 pm, and then did some scheduling back at my library desk for some complex stuff that didn't involve being on the phone or talking with the family, but was best done with my full attention. Tomorrow we're supposed to have many more people in clinic, and if we're still down a couple of people, it will be very difficult. I'm going to stay till 3 pm to help out. Still, you can only do the best you can.

One nice thing about this week is all the free food. Today we had a pizza party due to meeting a return rate on an important survey. They ordered Donato's. I ate a couple of small pieces of thin-crust veggie pizza. Tomorrow my scheduling boss is going to buy us lunch from somewhere to thank us for all our work despite being short-handed. Thursday we have a potluck in that department and a Secret Santa exchange. That afternoon there's an ice cream social. Ah, the holidays. So that means I don't have to buy lunch till Friday, and then I'll probably bring my own. I spend way too much money in our cafeteria over the course of a week, as I usually have breakfast and lunch there, and sometimes dinner, too. They also have a heavy emphasis on starches and fried foods.

Still, I've done well today with my eating. My blood sugar was 100 on the dot just now. Usually when I'm stressed I forget to eat and take care of myself properly, but I've really made an effort to.

Okay, I'm using my phone's hotspot, so I shouldn't stay on too long. Hope you're having a good week.

There is nothing quite like

Coming home,  taking one's shoes off,  putting some orange ginger lotion on them,  and then lying down with a fan on one's feet. It's especially good if you stand all day,  but relaxing even with a desk job.

I have not been this tired in awhile.  We had a very busy day and I was in scheduling.  We were short-handed,  and I wound up in checkout for about six hours.  I'm usually doing another job there for four hours at a time,  and only covering the window when someone is at lunch.

So now I'm home,  and I've taken care of some business,  and now I'm going to rest.  I may go to the library in awhile,  as I have a book that has arrived that I had on hold. If so,  I'll take the laptop and blog some more.  We'll see.  I've had a headache most of the day and I want to see if it will ease up before I go anywhere. So I am going to lie down in a darkened room and rest for a bit, for now,  anyway.  If I don't write more tonight,  I hope you have a good night.

I am tired of fishing

The filter mechanism out of the little three-gallon aquarium where the betta is. It tends to pop out of its suction cups and float on the water.  It's done it twice tonight. As a result,  it is no longer pushing water over the filter's lip,  so it really isn't doing anything useful anymore.  If I can,  I'll replace it soon.  In the meantime,  the fish will have to be content with water changes and a large bubbling air stone.

In the process of cleaning

I went looking for the AC adapter for something and managed to tear apart two closets and some totes.  While I found some other things,  of course,  I didn't find what I was looking for. So although in some ways I got a lot done, especially in the living room,  now the bedroom is a total disaster.

As I was going through boxes,  I found some bulbs that were sprouting.  I think they're daffodils.  So I put them in a pot with some new soil,  and put that in the front window.

I lost my cable today.  I think I'm going to let it go.  The price is ridiculous considering how little I watch TV, and I have a digital antenna for local channels, and I usually watch TV and Netflix with a friend at his place, and while I do use the Internet,  I can also use my phone for almost everything and my data plan includes a hotspot service that can run WiFi for several gigabytes a month. I could save $120 a month for the cable and Internet and another $20 a month for a phone that piggy-backs on the cable.

Okay,  I need to start putting the place back together.  I watched the local news, but I think it's time to go back to listening to music while I clean.

I have re-potted the little pine tree

This time I didn't put lights or garland on it,  and I added another stake.  I put the lights around the window instead,  and found a bulb for that funky light strand so it won't blink. The larger ornaments were put on the larger tree.  I put on little bells,  some snowflakes,  and tiny ornaments made for an even smaller tree.  It seems much happier.

I got up early this morning

and ran a couple of errands for my friends. Now I'm home and considering a plan of action to really clean the house. The living room is particularly bad, as I got needles all over the place, still have to take care of the little tree, and there are boxes everywhere from tree decorating. I can barely get around the living room. I also need to put some dishes away, load the dishwasher, give the bathroom a little attention, and collect my laundry so I can do it tomorrow.

This could have been written for me

and for many women, or people, for that matter. It's a sweet song with a good message.

:)

As I mentioned last night, my little Charlie Brown tree toppled last night while I was helping a friend put up his tree. He had given me his old one plus some ornaments his mom had given him, which tend to be folksy and I chose ones that weren't as overt as Mary and Jesus. Santa is there, but Santa is partially pagan in origin, and there are angels, which are not limited to Judaeo-Christian belief. But mostly it's snowmen, bears, winter things, and gift-giving in theme. And I finally have a tree that will support my Hallmark mistle-toad, which grins when you pull the tassel. :) That one I've had for years. There's also a few that were given to me, one when I was 8 by a teacher. So it's very homey. This is still a little too Christmas-y for my taste, but it'll work as a Yule tree for this year. Next year the plan is to find ornaments exhalting nature, perhaps birds or a solar theme. (And yes, I do recognise the incongruence of that and an artificial tree, but I am too poor to buy live trees big enough, and I don't like the idea of cutting down the tree, even if it is sustainably grown. I think the gods will understand.) In the meantime, I'm going to try to salvage the live tree and get it set back up, this time in the bedroom. I've moved the flamingo and spider plants out here to the living room to give it some space. I'm hoping when I re-pot it, the leaning will cease. But having just spent an hour and a half putting the tree up, I think I'll take a break. :)

So

I just got home,it's just now noon, and I've accomplished everything on my list except tree decorating (although I did manage to get the tree and ornaments out of the car and inside the house) and of course 'Grimm', which doesn't come on till 9 pm. I did not actually find a belt that was acceptable. The only ones in my size were a dull lime green. I don't care for that colour, and they barely fit, as in, the first hole might have worked. I'll try to get one a size up online when I have some money. Most of the Gabriel Brothers belts were about $3.99, though, so I was a bit bummed on that front. But I got some holiday cards that were nice for 99 cents a box (I got two, so that's enough for all the departments at work and maybe for friends (I do have a few old cards that would probably be better for friends). I found my co-worker's gift, something that would normally sell for about $40 that was only $10. I also found a totally unmarked phone case that fits my phone, is purple, and is in the shape of a book. How can anyone resist such a thing? Well, I had them do a price check and it was $4.99, so I did take it. But I got out of there with very little money spent, then headed over to the gas station, where gas was $2.38, but with my Kroger points I got it for $2.18. :) I understand why our little Speedway that used to be in front of that Kroger was eventually torn down and a Tire Discounters is there now. Business really suffered, although we had great and loyal customers, too. But our 3 cents off a gallon with a card couldn't compete with one that gives you up to $1 a gallon when you use your fuel points.

When I got the tree and ornaments out of the car, I found a bag of canned goods I'd forgotten to bring in last night. I'm having canned peas right now. :)

When I went to the pharmacy, the owner gave me a tote bag with their logo on it for each of us who use them.

It's pretty cold outside, but sunny, so that's nice. I did consider going to the cinema today and using those free tickets. But I think I'll stick around the house for the afternoon, work on it, and put the tree up. But first, I'm going to take a midday nap, because I haven't been able to do that since I was off after getting hit by the car. Oh, and I almost got hit today in my parking lot when I was coming back from putting the fan out, and I stopped as soon as I realised it was about to hit me, and the guy was quite surprised to see me, so I don't know what on earth he'd been doing up to that point, but obviously hadn't seen me. In his defence, the sun may have been in his eyes. But it was a inauspicious was to start the day. And just now a truck tried to turn right while I was still clearing the intersection at Alumni and Man O'War, and almost went into me. Is it any wonder I get nervous while driving?

So I've been up for about and hour-and-a-half

and I've got the house looking decent, if not actually clean and happy. I'm waiting for the bank to open. Once it's 9 am, I'll take the books by the library (the branch opens at 9:30, and one was due yesterday), get what I need at the bank, pay my rent, check with the pharmacy regarding the new medicine, and then try to run the rest of my errands, which can only be done if I can find things really cheap, as I have very little I can spend. I was thinking of looking for cards, the belt, and the present for my co-worker at Gabriel Brothers. As far as lights for the tree go, I may just use the ones I have in the windows right now--they're long enough between the two strands and multicoloured, which I like. The strands on the little Charlie Brown tree are too small, and one is, well, odd, sort of little mulitcoloured flames, and I've never seen that style before or since. I usually put it on the tree at work, but I didn't do lights on it this year.

This is the first morning in awhile that we've had frost on the windows. I've already been out, to take out the trash and recyclables and also a fan that died. Some time ago I'd let my friends have my old fan, and they're letting me have it back since I sleep to it, even in the winter. So last night I slept much better than I had in about three weeks.

In case you haven't guessed, due to my long list of things to do, I'm off today. I've carefully built up enough personal time off to have enough time for the holidays and a few more days, and today there's no clinic or surgery, as we have a seminar the doctors, residents, and other staff go to. I don't attend the lecture usually, and things would have been very quiet for most of my work, so my bosses let me have the day off. I'll also take three days at Christmas (two of which are our holidays, but the 26th is not, but it's a Friday, so why not have a five-day weekend?), but I'm just taking January 1st off, I think, not that Friday. Next week, however, sounds like it will be very, very busy. So I'm going to try to enjoy things as best I can while I'm off.

Okay, the bank's almost open. Time to get this show on the road.

'Oh, no! I've killed it!'

So I came home from helping a friend put up his Christmas tree only to find my little Yule tree lying on the floor, with most of its dirt spilled out of the pot, looking like a sad little Charlie Brown tree indeed. I righted it, and decided that I will deal with it in good time, but not right at this moment. Poor thing. I'm not entirely sure I can save it. It lost a lot of soil, although it didn't break or anything when it fell. But man, it's messy. I really must take care of that as soon as possible, though, as it is on carpet. Thankfully it's not damp soil.

Today I went to my family practice and saw both the doctor and the physicians assistant, and despite the fact that the Sharpie ink came right off in the shower, I did explain the anxiety situation, and was prescribed a low dose of Buspar and referred to a behavioural health practice which is across town but in my insurance network. So that should help.

Tomorrow will be very busy. I need to:

1. Straighten up the house early in the morning, as they're coming to inspect the appliances and it's a wreck
2. Pick up the Buspar from the pharmacy
3. Run by the library before they open and give in some books
4. Go to the bank
5. Pay my rent
6. Buy a small Secret Santa gift
7. Find some holiday cards
8. Look fora belt (I've had one for almost three decades, where the loop has come off. the belt has stretched beyond its original dimensions to the point where I'm putting the tongue through the braid and not the holes of the strap, and tucking the tip under the strap instead)
9. Get lights and go through some ornaments for the larger, artificial tree A gave me
10. Put up the tree and decorate it
11. Watch 'Grimm' with YKWIA

Oh, and we're not playing the game Sunday as Brenda has another commitment. I'm not sure what I'm doing Saturday. I still haven't seen Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I, and I have a free movie ticket and a voucher for a small drink and popcorn for free. Hmmm....

A reminder from a friend

To talk with my doctor tomorrow about the anxiety I am having when driving in rush-hour traffic.  It is rather blatant,  but I think it will help me remember.

About time

Amazon's X-ray makes its way to Kindle for Android, at last

Amazon is finally bringing Kindle's X-ray feature to Android devices, three years after it launched and two years after it became available on iPhones and iPads. X-ray, for those who haven't had the chance to use it yet, provides some sort of an encyclopedia-and-dictionary-in-one for each book you read.

I do normally read on my Kindle Keyboard, the e-ink reader (I prefer e-ink to backlight), and not on my Android tablet or phone, but it's nice that it is available.

This sounds really great

Public-art project will put Kentucky's groundwater to music

Two stations will be at McConnell Springs in Lexington and Mammoth Cave National Park in southern Kentucky. Two other sites under consideration are a spring at Carter Caves State Park in Eastern Kentucky and one at Land Between the Lakes in Western Kentucky.

That data measures five values for groundwater: acidity, flow, temperature, conductivity (its capacity to pass electrical current) and turbidity, or clarity. Values of each measure will be assigned to Sollee's recorded cello phrases, which will be played through 20 large pipes.

"When the data hits a certain point, it will play the note, so it's a dynamic soundscape based on Kentucky groundwater," Nash said in July, during a demonstration of a prototype at the Downtown Arts Center. The demonstration used recorded groundwater data.

Tomorrow

Both Santa and the bloodmobile are coming to our workplace. I plan on giving blood, but I may watch Santa arrive and pet the horses (our Santa comes on horse-drawn carriages, with beautiful draught horses, as we rarely have enough snow for a sleigh when he comes). Of course, then I'll have to wash my hands thoroughly, as I am terribly allergic to horses. Then I'll go to the bloodmobile and hope that I have enough iron in my blood to donate. (Sometimes I don't, although I've been taking chewable vitamins, which should have helped).

Okay, time to work on some things before it gets too late. Good night.

My moose family and the skeleton at work are in a holiday mood

Today I:

1. Did not manage to get to work early like I have been and as a result was really rushed.
2. Stayed in scheduling longer than I expected to cover someone who didn't go to lunch until right when I was supposed to leave.
3. Forgot to change jobs at the time clock in the middle of the day, so I'll have to have someone add that.
4. Accepted a quote for next year's electronic journals and got the ball rolling to be invoiced.
5. Proofed a book review.
6. Put up lights in my cubicle, as well as my moose family decorations, a snowman--and a Santa hat is now perched on the skeleton's head.
7. Talked with YKWIA about the joys of dog ownership.:)
8. Stopped by Speedway and used my points to get a $10 cash card, which I then used for gas.

Now, I've eaten dinner. Things I should do tonight:

1. Start the game notes (one of my characters got shot in the game; she got better, though--I wish we had special magical healing in the real world).
2. Straighten up the house.
3. Watch 'The Librarians', which should have recorded last night.
4. I also have books to return to the library, but I think I'll wait if I can to do that when I'm over by there Thursday for a doctor's appointment. Granted, the library is practically across the street, if you count the fact that it's also a quarter of a mile away. I think I have till then.

Here's my little Norfolk Virginia pine doing an excellent job as a Charlie Brown Christmas tree

although technically it's a Yule tree.

This gives me goosebumps (and I'm not even Christian)

although I do love Christmas music, and a cappella music. Pentatonix does an excellent job.



This might even be better than their rendition of 'The Little Drummer Boy', which is wonderful. Check them out.

Starting to get in the holiday mood

Today I:

1. Put up the tree at work (see below). I didn't have any lights, but I think it worked well, plus I could put it on one of the shelving units rather than on the floor where it would look tiny. The Little Golden Book ornaments were made by a coworker who used to oversee the library. The snowmen are tongue depressors the inpatient unit made, and the crocheted angel is one a now-retired co-worker gave me. The angel on top is porcelain and red-haired. This tree is probably about 25 years old as near as I can figure, at least (but adheres to all regulations regarding flame retardance).
2. Listened to an a cappella holiday album by Pentatonix
3. Enjoyed a free holiday lunch at work, where they fixed some fish for those of us who don't eat prime rib or chicken
4. Went to a holiday social after work and spent time with my co-workers and eating cheese and dessert (the hors d'oevres were made with meat)
5. Watched a Christmas episode of 'Grimm' with YKWIA
6. Hung up holiday lights in my windows (multicolour, steady)
7. Put lights (white, steady) and garland (pearlescent clear) onto my little Norfolk Virginia pine at home. By that time it was midnight, so I"ll wait till tomorrow to put most of the ornaments on. I also have holographic-etched silver snowflakes to go in the windows.

I really should find a tree skirt for the one at work. It would look even better.

A pretty decent day so far

It started out with an appointment where the doctor called in sick, so I got there and the receptionists were scrambling to alert patients and reschedule. I went ahead and rescheduled, with their gratitude for having a decent attitude about it (hey, doctors get sick, too, sometimes, and I don't need any more germs). I dropped some books off at the library before they opened and got to work at the regular time. I'd originally planned to work in scheduling tomorrow instead of today because of the lower patient count and the appointment I had, but instead I helped out today there.

Work went well. Now I'm home and have talked to YKWIA a couple of times on the phone and have eaten something. I need to start on the game notes. I think I was about an hour into them last time I worked on them. Then I want to do some things around the house and maybe watch something. So for now, I'll leave off here. I may write later tonight.

I think that's the first time

I've actually watched all the seasons of a show available on Netflix. I'm not a binge watcher, and I prefer to watch shows with friends. But we watched the last episode of 'Haven' today, and season 5 isn't on Netflix yet. :( And that means I won't hear the happy music in the opening for awhile, either:



I'm tempted to buy the theme from Amazon, although it's 99 cents for about 54 seconds of music, which I think is a bit much. Maybe next time I get a credit. There's a piano version in Prime Music, but it's not the same, and I prefer the original.

Okay, I've got a field of vision test and a trip to the opthamologist early tomorrow, so I should think about going on to bed. But I'm glad we finally saw the fourth season through, even though it ended with so many questions that will hopefully be answered in the fifth, which will hopefully be on Netflix sooner than later.

Been listening to this a lot lately

Awww....

For more on Rescue from the Hart, as well as updates on Layla, check out their Facebook page.

Weird coincidence, something I don't normally believe in, but which seems to be the case

My Page-a-Day calendar that suggests books to read each day had PD James' Death Comes to Pemberley for November 27th. That is the same day that the author of The Children of Men and a host of murder mysteries died at the age of 94.

Today I:

1. Slept in.
2. Did housework.
3. Went to my friends' house.
4. Did laundry.
5. Watched an episode of 'Space Academy' from years ago.
6. Watched an episode of 'The Greatest American Hero' that was an unaired pilot inserted as the last episode of the show in syndication in which Ralph passes the suit on to a young woman.
7. Watched the movie The Giver, which was quite well done and I now want to re-read the book and read the other three in the quartet, which I have on my bookshelf.
8. Came home and have been relaxing.

All in all it's been a good day, a good weekend, and a good holiday.

Home from the holidays

On Thanksgiving, I had a wonderful dinner that I'd helped YKWIA prepare, and we had quite a nice day, ending with re-watching Julie and Julia. We had mostly French-style Thanksgiving food, including chestnut soup, gruyere gougères, Quorn fake turkey roast, port cranberry sauce, potatoes with garlic and parsley, green beans with chives, celery salad, rolls, apples and lavender in puff pastry, and French pumpkin pie. Everything except the rolls were made from scratch. It was all really yummy. I don't understand how Quorn can turn mushorooms into something that tastes like poultry, but they do. And the apples in lavender butter were absolutely sublime. But it was all excellent. I'd never had chestnuts before and while they were a pain to peel, the soup was great.

Yesterday it was off to Danville to visit my mom. I had a decent time. We talked quite a bit and watched a good deal of television, including the movies Leap Year (which I loved, and yet another Amy Adams film, so I saw her two days in a row after Julie and Julia), Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, and part of Total Recall (I left in the middle of that one; I've seen it before.) Last night we watched a lot of 'Blue Bloods' with Tom Selleck, which I hadn't watched before but was pretty good. We also watched 'Rookie Blue' and 'Hawaii Five-O', so lots of cops shows. I did not get a chance to watch 'Grimm', but should have it on the DVR here. Today we were watching TNT, and 'The Librarians' are coming, a series based on the Noah Wyle movies, with a team of adventurers. I liked the movies quite a bit, so I must say, I'm intrigued. It premiers Sunday, December 7th, at 8 pm. Must remember that, as I'm usually playing the Cthulhu game till about then.

There is no Cthulhu game tomorrow, as Brenda has a potluck with the local Society for Creative Anachronism shire. But maybe YWKIA and I can finish the fourth season of 'Haven' (one episode left) on Netflix and all three of us can do some thing fun.

Today I'm going to try to work on the house some, as I let it deteriorate while I was sick. It's not awful, but it need some attention. But first I should check in with the guys and make sure A doesn't need to go to the grocery today.

Anyway, that's my holiday weekend so far. Hope yours is doing well.

Go, me!

So it's official.  I'm 25 lbs lighter than I was at my highest weight a few months ago.  Five more pounds and I'll meet the goal my endocrinologist set to increase my insulin sensitivity.  My tops are fitting much better,  although I am the same dress size,  but my pants are pretty loose. I might be able to get into a smaller pair of jeans now. I haven't been dieting, really,  although I have been pretty poor of late so I've been eating less overall. But whatever the reason,  it's good to be shrinking rather than growing in size.

Time for a quiz

Which Founding Father are You?

You are John Adams. John Adams was persuasive and favored justice over all. He wrote much of the Constitution, was an advocate for human rights, and wanted peace. He was also a good friend and confidant.

Good grief

Woman intentionally struck by car after dispute involving two vehicles

A road feud that included a gun ended in a female pedestrian being intentionally hit and severely injured at a busy Lexington intersection, police said.

At Harrodsburg and Lane Allen roads, two vehicles with people inside who knew each other had an altercation of some sort about 12:30 p.m., police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts said. A person in a white Kia pointed a gun at the people in the second vehicle. A woman in the second vehicle stepped out of it to confront the people in the Kia. The Kia driver pulled in front of the second vehicle and reversed, hitting the female pedestrian.

Her leg nearly needed amputating, according to the story. The police have arrested those involved, apparently. But it's very scary to think people like that are out driving. And I do wonder why anyone who is being threatened with a gun from another car would get out of their own to confront the other person. There must be some very bad blood between these people.

This was actually the second pedestrian to be hit in Lexington today, although I'm assuming the other was an actual accident. Watch out folks! I know what it feels like to be hit by a car, and I was aware of my surroundings and in the crosswalk with the light and it still ran over my foot and hit me, breaking my ankle, seemingly out of the blue, with the driver swearing he didn't see me even though I was in two extremes of coloured clothing, the sun was shining, and I was clearly in the sidewalk. Add things like darkness, bad weather, and the like, and it can be an absolute disaster. And even everything you can do can go to naught if you have a bat-shit crazy driver who is aiming for you.

So weird.

I'm feeling much better

I'm a little tired now, but I've worked at three types of jobs today, and then helped YKWIA prepare, roast, and peel chestnuts for the soup we're having for Thanksgiving--a long and somewhat painful process, especially if you get the shells under a fingernail, but I enjoyed the company. My coughing has eased, my congestion, while there, is not as bad, the sore throat is gone, that sort of thing. I really feel like I'm back in the land of the living. I'm having some brain fog issues. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with having been sick or not, but it did seem worse while I was sick.

Tomorrow I have a couple of appointments, and after work we're going to get the rest of the things for Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to the menu and yes, even the preparation, although I may feel differently after it's all over.

I hate to say it, but I am pretty pooped, so I think I'll go on to bed. I have to get up early in the morning. Good night!

A disturbing upward trend

U.N. Report Shows an Increase in Trafficking of Children

One in three human trafficking victims is a child, most victims are female, and traffickers operate with wide impunity, the United Nations said Monday in a report on modern-day slavery.

The 2014 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, produced by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, also found that the proportion of children among victims appeared to be rising. Its first report, in 2012, said the proportion had been closer to one in four.

In some regions, like Africa and the Middle East, the new report said, two out of three victims are children.

There is a gender issue here, as:

Other statistics in the report showed that girls account for two out of every three child victims, and that together with adult women, account for 70 percent of all trafficking victims.

And the scope is wide:

The report found that trafficking was a problem all over the world, with at least 152 countries of origin and 124 countries of destination. More than 6 in 10 victims have been transported across at least one national border, it said.

We need to find a way to make this less profitable, find the perpetrators, and free those enslaved. It's so pervasive and only recently has it been really studied or even talked about. Even here in Lexington, a couple were arrested for using slave-labour in their stores. I'm not sure how that case is playing out, but the point is, this is all over the place, including in our own backyard. We need to take notice, and support groups that are trying to make a difference at preventing, freeing, and rehabilitating these people.

Well, at least I'm awake, I guess

So I spent the first half hour of being awake looking through my e-mails and tying to access the patient portal to my doctor's office, because I got an e-mail saying there were new lab results. Now, I go on this maybe once every few months, so I never remember the password (although at least I do remember the username), and I didn't have it with my other passwords. So after many tried through the Android application, I tried to reset the password, but it asks for birth date or phone number as validation and then doesn't accept either. So I tried to go to the web version, which is tricky because it locks the account after three tries, so I tried twice and then requested a reset to the password. This time the validation was a challenge question I could answer, and it accepted it, so I've changed my password (and I've entered it into the appropriate place for later), and finally got to the results, which turned out be be from my strep test, which I already knew was negative. :( Nothing like frustration to get you up and out of bed. Grrr.

I feel somewhat better

which may have something to do with having two shots in the butt today at the doctor's office--one an antibiotic, the other a steroid. I haven't had a shot in my butt since I was a kid, I think. Now I've got a Band-Aid on each cheek. :) Tomorrow I'm going to pick up some more medicine from the pharmacy. Although the good news is I don't have strep throat and my lungs are clear, I've gone into a sinus infection. So hopefully I'll be feeling better in general soon, maybe even before Thanksgiving, as I am going to help YKWIA with Thanksgiving dinner and then visit my mom on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. I'd like to be free of most of the symptoms by then, but I'll settle for as soon as possible, as I've been sick for fifteen days and am quite tired of it.

I went over to YKWIA's tonight to watch 'Grimm' with him, which was quite good, plus we visited for awhile and watched some of 'The Big Bang Theory'. Billy Bob Thornton can do creepy really well. Tomorrow I'm taking A to the pharmacy (and getting my stuff as well), taking him to the grocery, and maybe a few other places as we gather stuff for Thanksgiving. Like last year, the theme is French-style cooking, but we managed to convince YKWIA to cut back a little this year, as there are only the three of us. Last year it took A and myself an hour-and-a-half to wash the dishes that wouldn't fit in the dish washer only to find YKWIA asleep at the table, tired from all we had done that day. There's still a lot to do this year, and I'm not off on Wednesday. But hopefully we'll have a good time.

I also have to finish the game notes tomorrow. I have some of them done, but there's still more, and it's investigative work, so that takes longer to transcribe than down time or action scenes. But I think we only played for about three-and-a-half hours last time, so that's not too bad. I just haven't felt up to working on them since we last played.

Okay, I think I will get something to drink and then head on to bed. Good night!

Yes, especially #1

THE 25 BOOKS EVERY WOMAN SHOULD READ (by Lisa Simpson)

This is a nice article on the value of libraries

A Field Trip to America's Public Libraries: How they serve the needs of their communities

As we’ve been crisscrossing the country visiting towns and cities for our American Futures project, I always look forward to stopping in the town's public library. Every town has one. They’re often lovely buildings. (Thank you, Andrew Carnegie!) They offer a first pulse of the town. (Are they vibrant and bustling?) The librarians are as knowledgeable as the newspaper editors and as welcoming as the Chamber of Commerce. Who wouldn’t love a library?

Just a quick update tonight

as I am just now getting home and it is pretty late. Tomorrow comes early in the morning. I have an appointment with the physician's assistant at my doctor's office tomorrow about my illness. Granted, I think it's just a cold, and there's not much to do about that, but I am concerned about the fact that it's been fourteen days, got slightly better and then worsened, and I'm having tightness and pressure in my chest, am short of breath and wheezing, and when lying down it hurts a bit to breathe. I'm thinking it's just my asthma worsening in response to the cold, but I want to make sure it's not something more serious. So I see her mid-morning tomorrow. I am so tired of this. I just have a little more medicine left, but I have to admit, it could be sugar pills for all that it's helped, really. I just keep producing more and more congestion.

On the other hand, I am really happy about something. I nearly wrecked a very good relationship by messing up, blowing up over something trivial, and over something stupid, taking out my own stress and frustrations out on someone I care about very much. I've been a little down these past few weeks because, well, the person is like family to me, or even closer, and I almost blew it completely. But I've managed to make it right and apologised, and things are better now, for which I am very grateful, as I love this person deeply, like a brother, and I am so terribly sorry and grateful that he would even give me the time of day.

That's pretty much all for the night. Good night.

So I am feeling

Less nervous about scheduling and am a little more confident in what I'm doing this week as opposed to last week,  where I felt drained and stressed.  And it was a very busy week,  but I mostly stayed on top of things and juggled my library and revenue cycle duties pretty well. Thursday and Friday I can take care of those two areas in greater depth,  plus I have some meetings to go to.  Tomorrow I have to leave early to take a friend to an appointment as well.  But I am an hour-and-a-half ahead on my time,  so I won't have to dip into my personal time off much. 

I've been trying to build it up due to the impending holidays,  and barring getting sicker or something like that,  I should be on track for two days at Thanksgiving,  three at Christmas (we have Christmas Eve off in addition to Christmas Day.  It seemed a good plan to take that Friday off as well).  Of course,  there is also New Year's. So that is six days.  With the next pay period I'll have about eight days saved. By the end of the year there will be about two more.

I am still sick,  but hanging in there.  I am tired of blowing my nose,  which is very irritated.  Even with the medication,  which I am almost out of,  it has not been fun.  But if I can get better without it going into a sinus infection or bronchitis,  I will be quite happy.

I was going to read for a bit.  Turns out I left my Kindle wireless connexion on several days ago,  so it's charging.  Yes,  I know,  this is where real,  physical books have an advantage. So instead I am listening to music and debating on whether it's too late in the day for a nap.  :) Or, I could just pick one of the many books I have on sixteen bookshelves and read.  I have several out from the library I need to get to,  as well.  :)

This is not right

Million-dollar baby: Hawaii vacation leaves Sask. parents with massive medical bill

A Saskatchewan mother says she is facing more than $900,000 in medical bills after giving birth unexpectedly in the United States and being told the costs won’t be covered by insurance.

Jennifer Huculak was nearly six months pregnant when her water broke while on vacation in Hawaii in October 2013. After a lengthy hospital stay, Huculak’s daughter, Reece, was born prematurely and required a two-month stay in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Before her trip, Huculak said she purchased Blue Cross insurance and got the green light to travel from her doctor.

And the Canadian couple even bought insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield, only to have the claim denied. Thankfully the little girl did well considering she was born so early. But this sort of bill is staggering.

Finally! (although as a teen I would have loved to have peeled off my zits in one painless tug)

The New ‘Normal Barbie’ Comes With an Average Woman’s Proportions — And Cellulite Sticker Accessories

"I wanted to show that reality is cool," says the creator of the Lammily doll.

It’s a month before the holidays and you’re grappling with a serious toy buyer’s dilemma: On the one hand, you kind of just want to get your kid a Barbie; on the other hand you’d rather not perpetuate the peddling of anatomical ideals that are so impossible to achieve–and impractical. (Were Barbie human, she’d have to walk on all fours due to her tiny feet and would only have room for half a liver.)

That’s why graphic designer-turned-toy-maker Nickolay Lamm created the Lammily doll — what the Barbie would look like if she actually had the measurements of an average 19-year-old woman’s body (based on CDC data). And brown hair. (She also comes with a sticker extension pack, complete with cellulite, freckles and acne, but we’ll get to that later.)

This makes me think of YKWIA

who taught me this a long time ago.

Amazingly

I have never made it to Florida. On the other hand, strange news stories and horrible shootings seem to come from Florida. But maybe some day...

The odd things YKWIA finds and shares with me

Tataku Shisho: the Book of Bantorra

In a world where deceased people turn into stone-like books and are stored in the Bantorra Library, anyone who reads a book can learn its past. Bantorra Library is maintained by the Armed Librarians, who wield supernatural abilities, and their enemy is a psychotic cult known as Shindeki Church. As the story progresses it presents a world of sorrow and pain, and the unfairness and frugality of life, as well as personal desires. However, in each arc there is also a small underlying hope, and more of the reasons, conspiracies, and secrets are revealed behind everything.

Hmmm...

Where Are the Hardest Places to Live in the U.S.?

Annie Lowrey writes in the Times Magazine this week about the troubles of Clay County, Ky., which by several measures is the hardest place in America to live.

The Upshot came to this conclusion by looking at six data points for each county in the United States: education (percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree), median household income, unemployment rate, disability rate, life expectancy and obesity. We then averaged each county’s relative rank in these categories to create an overall ranking.

(We tried to include other factors, including income mobility and measures of environmental quality, but we were not able to find data sets covering all counties in the United States.)

The 10 lowest counties in the country, by this ranking, include a cluster of six in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky (Breathitt, Clay, Jackson, Lee, Leslie and Magoffin), along with four others in various parts of the rural South: Humphreys County, Miss.; East Carroll Parish, La.; Jefferson County, Ga.; and Lee County, Ark.

Here in Fayette, we're in a little better state than the rest of the Commonwealth:



In the original article, if you roll over the map, it will bring up a box with the chosen county's statistics.

More neat stuff about the body

hese 15 Facts About The Human Body Will Astonish You

I don't agree with one, an assertion that 'Babies are always born with blue eyes'. Most Caucasian ones are, I realise. But mine were light brown, same as they are now, and I'm Caucasian, although there's some American Indian (reportedly Blackfoot) in there, so that might be the explanation. But, being a universal statement, it is therefore negated. Besides, I'm pretty sure that while, for example, there are blue-eyed Africans, not all babies of all races are born blue-eyed. Not that the Internet is the solution to all such questions (this link, of course, was found on the Internet), but if you type into Google, 'are all babies born with blue eyes', you get:

Babies of African and Asian descent are usually born with brown eyes that stay brown. Caucasian babies are often born with steel gray or dark blue eyes; they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time they're 9 months old.

Hah! Google has spoken!

Interesting

Life in Space Affects Men's And Women's Health Very Differently

Back in 2011, NASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) — on the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences — assembled six workgroups to investigate and summarize the current body of knowledge about human and animal spaceflight. The groups focused on cardiovascular, immunological, sensorimotor, musculoskeletal, reproductive and behavioral implications on spaceflight adaptation for men and women. The results have now been published in the latest edition of the Journal of Women's Health.

The study — done in anticipation of longer-duration spaceflights — will inform the health and safety considerations required for astronauts, particularly as they pertain to sex and gender differences.

Thanks to Alexandra Bond for the link!

Great job, both to the young lady and to those who trained her

Missouri teen saves 11-month-old baby in Walmart with CPR

Abby Snodgrass, 17, was in the High Ridge, Mo., Walmart when she heard a commotion. She ran over and performed CPR on a baby who had stopped breathing and most likely saved the child. She learned the life-saving procedure in health class.

You don't see much in the way of heartwarming or good stories in the news these days, so I was glad to see this. Apparently the local emergency personnel have been teaching every high school student in their district CPR since last year, and will have taught about 600 young people by year's end. What a great programme! I took CPR years ago, but haven't kept up on the latest techniques at all, and I gather it's changed a lot. I should check into getting a refresher at work. I'm not one of the people required to maintain CPR-certification, but it never hurts to know what to do.

Baby, it's cold outside

Deep freeze, USA: All 50 states sink below freezing point after second polar plunge dumps FIVE FEET of snow on Great Lakes

• Every single state experienced below-freezing temperatures Tuesday
• Five feet of snow is expected around Buffalo, New York
• Half of the nation is blanketed in snow
• Authorities shut down the New York State Thruway in western New York
• Dozens of drivers are stranded on the Thruway after getting caught in incredible pile-up of lake effect snow
• Temperatures are 15 to 25 degrees lower than normal for this time of the year across most of the country

Note that here in Kentucky, per one of the maps, we are 22 degrees lower than normal for this time of year, and you could certainly feel it. I was concerned this morning because my car doors tend to freeze shut easily and I've been told that my battery is charging at 50% capacity but haven't been able to get a new one yet before the cold weather settled in. Fortunately, this morning everything went as planned. Let's hope tomorrow will as well. We're going to steadily warm up till this weekend we'll see the 60s, and Thanksgiving is supposed to be sunny and 49. But getting down to the low teens in November for lows is not fun, and we simply aren't ready for it. Last winter was so horribly cold, snowy, and seemed longer than it should have, and I think most people are starting to think that this one will be similar.

With temperatures nosediving, let's hope they decide on something soon

Lexington may set aside $200,000 for homeless shelter in city-owned building on Industry Road

Even if all the parties come to agreement on Dec. 3, HUD must sign off on the agreement, Ramsey said.

The council allocated $1,237,850 of the $2.2 million last week. It has a little less than $1 million left to allocate. Hamilton said the $200,000 would be used to add bathing and bathroom areas at the Industry Road building.

Ramsey said the two sides need to come to a resolution soon. The Community Inn is operating at capacity as temperatures plummet. Twenty-eight people stayed overnight at the Catholic Action Center, a day shelter, on Sunday night.

"We are seeing a lot of new homeless people," Ramsey said. "We aren't sure why. There are a lot of elderly and disabled. Many have come here looking for jobs because of our low unemployment rate. About 45 percent of the people who stay at the Community Inn work full time."

Here's to anything that can serve our homeless population, get people back on their feet, and out of danger.

I need to catch up with series 8 on the DVR, having only seen a couple of them

'Doctor Who' Star Peter Capaldi Confirmed For Season 9 And 10; Will Jenna-Louise Coleman Return?

It looks like “Doctor Who” star Peter Capaldi will be driving the TARDIS for Seasons 9 and 10 of the BBC series. According to showrunner Steven Moffat, the 56-year-old actor has officially signed on to continue as the iconic science fiction character.

“Yes, he’s confirmed,” Moffat told The Hollywood Reporter at a London press event for the Season 8 DVD release. Meanwhile, there is no word on whether or not Jenna-Louise Coleman will return for Season 9. Coleman has played The Doctor’s companion for two years, one year longer than Capaldi has been with the show.

I guess that means YKWIA won't be watching 'Doctor Who' for awhile. He can't understand much of what he says, between the Scottish accent, low speech pattern, and the fact that British shows always seem to suffer sound-wise. I can understand most of what he says. I don't know how I feel about Capaldi yet, as I haven't seen much of the series this year yet. I do like that the Doctor is older. I'm of an age to appreciate the Classic Who upon which I was raised, primarily the Tom Baker years.

So I spent the day sick in bed

And am starting to feel a little better, finally.  I have slept and awoken every two hours or so and drank a glass of water.  Every four hours it so I have eaten something.  I have listened to some music,  but not read or watched anything, as that takes too much effort when I feel bad.  But I have had vivid,  entertaining dreams. It is very much like two years ago when I was recovering from being hit by the car.

Fortunately the cold should abate sooner than that.  Tomorrow it's back to work in what should be snow.  For now,  though,  I just want to stop sneezing,  etc.,  and go back to the hoarse-yet-recovering stage I was in about midweek a few days ago. It would be nice to be recovered completely within a few more days,  especially by Thanksgiving.

It amazes me

Just how much mucous a human body is capable of producing even after one week or more after first becoming ill with a cold. And that's with medication,  which I finally have a generic version of Mucinex,  thankfully. Hopefully it will be better by what should be a very busy Monday at work.  But for now,  I'm sorry,  I don't feel much like blogging tonight and will be heading back to bed.  Good night.

I am apparently having a relapse

Of the cold symptoms. After a couple of days of feeling better,  it has gone downhill from there,  and quite frankly I am a moving snot factory.  I did manage to take YKWIA to an appointment yesterday and do some things with him last night,  and then went with A to the grocery today and visited over there.  But I'm obviously not feeling well,  and even with some cold medicine I was so congested that YKWIA sent me home after an episode of 'The Almighty Johnsons' and called Brenda and cancelled the game,  giving me time to rest up tomorrow,  for which I am grateful. So I am going to rest for a while now.  I'll try to blog later tonight.

I just realised that I'm dehydrated

During the warm part of the year,  my ankles swell terribly,  and so I take Lasix (furosemide),  a diuretic. Even early this autumn,  I continued to take it because when I tried to stop,  I swelled up as per normal.  But now it's cold outside and I haven't had any swelling for days.  But I have been drinking water like mad,  the equivalent of twelve glasses a day at least,  plus juice and soda,  and can't seem to quench my thirst. My lips are cracked,  my mouth dries out at night even with a humidifier on the CPAP.  I am drinking at least four glasses of water at night. My skin looks sunken and has trouble bouncing back.  I have had a headache on and off for days now.  So as of tomorrow,  no more Lasix or the potassium I take with it. Hopefully that will help.  And yes,  those were the doctor's orders,  to take as needed and stop the potassium if I stop the Lasix.  I just wish I had paid more attention and realised this days ago!

Isn't this a restful desktop wallpaper?

It's from the Autumn Color in Japan desktop theme from the Microsoft Windows website, which is free to download and includes other very lovely, restful scenes.

A great Vonnegut quote

Who, after all, knows a bit about banned and challenged books....



Got this image after it was shared by the Lexington Public Library on Facebook. Presumably it's from the Daily Kos website.

Despite having a very stressful and busy day yesterday, last night was rather pleasant, as was today

I talked to YKWIA on the phone for awhile, blogged for some time, listened to some music, organised my Kindle books (the newer ones, that is, as the older ones are already in categories) into the appropriate collections, updated my tablet's and phone's applications, and pulled out my old Nintendo gaming system and played Gauntlet and Tetris (the latter of which has the correct music, rather than the game on my phone). So my old TV in the bedroom (the one my grandmother gave me, and she died in 1993) now has a Roku box (which allows me to stream Netflix, Pandora, and Amazon Prime on it), an Atari 600 XL, and and Nintendo, all of which can be plugged in depending on what I need at the time. I would have the little DVD player back here, too (there's no cable connexion to the bedroom), but my DVD/VHS combo is having trouble with the door and I have the backup DVD out in the living room, the one I won at a function at work that's a little bit bigger than an actual disc. I need to send the DVD/VHS to be repaired, as it is under warranty. Must add that to my to do list.

Today at work was all about playing catch-up in the library with both the duties there and the data entry/revenue cycle duties. I had about fourteen things on my list to do, but got all but about five accomplished, and those were lower priority and can be tackled tomorrow. After work was also very busy. I:

1. Left work early (I was ahead on my time) and went to the bank for a cashier's cheque for my rent (and got there with ten minutes to spare!)
2. Went to the leasing office and paid my rent
3. Went by the library and got a book that was on hold for YKWIA to read
4. Grabbed some Taco Bell
5. Nearly ran over a bike rider who, in my defence, was
   • On the wrong side of the road
   • Was running against the light
   • Turning left as I turned right
   • Had no lights when it was quite dusk, nearly dark
   • Was dressed in dark clothing
   • And was only seen because of the motion and the reflectors, so thank goodness I didn't make a really sharp turn. I am all for sharing the road, but I expect them to follow standard rules, laws, and use some common sense, you know?
6. Came home and charged my phone while waiting for a call from A
7. Went and picked A up at work, as it was 27 degrees, and it would have taken him two hours to get home by bus, and he was already very late
8. Dropped off the book and watched a video with YKWIA
9. Went to Kroger and got a few groceries
10. Marvelled at both the snowflakes drifting down and also the fact that the Salvation Army bell-ringers are already out (I mean yes, it is two weeks till Thanksgiving, but still....)
11. Watched someone back hard into a truck in the parking lot and then leave quickly; at least the truck didn't appear damaged (I hope the little car was, as she didn't even bother to stop or look)
12. Came home and put away the groceries

So now I'm listening to Bastille and contemplating tomorrow. I have to finish my list at work, take a friend to an appointment, work on the game notes while I'm there (remember to take the laptop with me in the morning, note to self), and call my mom and make arrangements to visit around Thanksgiving (I'm doing Thanksgiving again this year with my friends here, but I thought I'd go visit her on that Friday and maybe stay overnight. Bless her, this will be her first Thanksgiving without her mother, who died this summer.)

I think I may read for awhile and then go on to bed. I'm thinking of starting a new feature here on this blog, reviewing books I own that I think are really neat and worthy of reading, whether they be children's picture books, juvenile/young adult books, adult fiction, or non-fiction. I've already picked out a few, one of each type that would be fun to do. Maybe I'll call it Rabid Reviews. Okay, that's silly. But I thought I should add some library to this librarian's blog. What do you think? I think I'll start tomorrow, and do it on Fridays, which will go well with the Unshelved comic's 'book talk' comics on Fridays as well.

A wonderful story, a great programme

I found this amusing

Post by Leon Roberts.

Everyone expects the organist to mad; not so the cellist. Plus, I love the rock-style roll-around-on-your-back-on-the-floor-while-playing-your-instrument thing. For some reason, it reminds me of this:



'There's no way to be cool when your instrument is bigger than you.'

Results of a 'Doctor Who' personality quiz

'Doctor Who' Personality Quiz: Which Doctor are You?

Your result: Congratulations! You're the Eighth Doctor You're a true romantic, a real believer in the power of people and their collective abilities. You may have seen some unpleasant things in your time, had to deal with traumatic events, but you've never let them soil the purity of your faith in the basic goodness of humans, and this is written across your face. It's a hugely attractive feature, and this can sometimes lead you into trouble. but people generally feel better for having spent some time in your presence.

When I was feeling stressed and tired Monday

This made my day much better:

This is neat

I was talking on the phone with YKWIA and we got onto the subject of chemistry and physics, and I happened upon this:Interactive Periodic Table

I've been crazy busy so far this week

so no real blogging the last couple of days, for which I'm sorry. But things should settle down a bit starting tomorrow, as I won't be in scheduling and can concentrate on catching up at work. Monday night I came home and crashed again, still feeling the effects of my cold. Yesterday I felt better, and last night I did manage to go over and visit YKWIA and A for a little while. YKWIA and I watched an episode of the New Zealand show 'The Almighty Johnsons', which I found rather fun (although followers of Norse religion may not agree). It was on Netflix, and follows four brothers whose family are all descended from the Norse Gods, each one learning which he is on his 21st birthday. There are a group of Norse Goddesses who try to interfere with a prophecy concerning the youngest member of the family.

Today I weighed myself and I'm at my lowest weight in years. In fact, if I lose one more pound, it'll be 25 that I've lost this year. So I'm feeling pretty decent about that. However, it has been a challenge, particularly with the new schedule, to take all of my medicine properly and really watch my diabetes. I must improve on that.

Okay, I'm going to go listen to some music and maybe read for awhile, and generally have a quiet evening at home. Oh, and I should straighten up and work on unloading the dishwasher, etc. Things aren't bad in the apartment, but I didn't do a thing while I was sick, and there is a mountain of tissues on my bed, for example. I need to wash the bedding this weekend with the rest of the laundry; while I never officially ran a fever, I swear I got very hot and on Saturday night it felt like a fever breaking.

Oh, one more thing. I'm very excited that they managed to land a craft on a comet: Philae spacecraft makes historic landing on comet. The Rosetta mission is a great opportunity. Even Google has gotten into the celebration with a doodle. :) I didn't hear until some time after it happened, while I was at lunch, because things were so busy in clinic. But yay and congratulations!

Not surprisingly, today kicked my butt

Considering this is the first day in a couple that I've been vertical, with this cold, I guess that makes sense. It was also the first day of flying solo, as it were, in registration, scheduling and covering checkout as needed from about 9 am to 1 pm. Actually, I stayed till 2 pm, as it didn't seem that I'd ever catch up. I was slow, but tried to be as accurate as possible, and people were very understanding. But a lot of odd things that didn't come up in training came up today (typical, I suppose, and after all, it was Monday). Tomorrow's load should be about the same. Wednesday the clinic is even bigger. Eek. I hope I can do this. I thought I was doing pretty well while I was in training, but this was totally different. And yes, I did have people to ask what to do, thankfully, when those things came up that I hadn't seen before. But I'm a little overwhelmed. I'm sure once the cold-induced brain fog lifts and I can catch my second wind I'll be fine. But it is a lot to absorb. They're just happy I was willing to do it. And it is a valuable skillset around there, so being the flexible person willing to learn just about anything is a good thing. I just want to do as great of a job as possible, that's all.

So I pulled off the road and took a call from YKWIA this afternoon (I try not to talk on the phone while driving at all, much less anything else you can do with a phone, which I consider verboten), as he checked on me and vice versa, and then I came home, made dinner (pancakes with light syrup) and crashed for about four or more hours, getting up several times to drink more water and blow my nose. I'm at that point where it's difficult to eat and breathe at the same time, as I can't breathe well through my nose. And at one point I was having trouble using the CPAP, because of course it's designed with nasal pillows, and mouth-breathing breaks the whole cycle. But I eventually got things going again, and my sinuses as cleared as possible.

If I hadn't been starting scheduling today, I probably would have called in sick. I was miserable most of the time I was there. Fortunately the entire time I was in patient registration I did not sneeze, blow my nose, sniffle, etc., so hopefully I didn't pass it on to anyone else, And I washed my hands a lot and I have some sanitizer I can use, too. Once I got back to my desk, though, I did have some congestion and the like, and over the course of the afternoon felt worse. Since I'd come in a little early in the morning, I went ahead and left a little early, so I worked 8 hours total. Now I'm ready to call it a night. Sorry I don't have anything exciting to blog about right now. On the other hand, I learned that excitement = drama = not something I need much in my life. :) Good night.

I did take this, though

It's a gorgeous Christmas Cactus bloom that's almost as big as the plant itself, which I got last year about this time. There are other buds on it, but this is the only on that's fully bloomed as yet. Those are happy geraniums in the background (happy because someone took pity on them and brought them in before they could freeze). :) This has been my main source of cheer today.

How I spent my day

So I've been sick for several days now, and I'm ready to be well again

It started with a scratchy throat on Thursday afternoon, then went into fairly mild cold symptoms the next day, so I went in to work anyway. But I stayed home and rested Thursday and Friday nights, and didn't do much of anything else those nights. I can't really complain; I haven't had so much as a cold for maybe three or four years now. Today I've mostly been in bed. i got up to take A to the barber and later to the grocery store. I figured that was safe given that I caught the cold from him, so he shouldn't have to worry about it. Because two of the three of us in the game are sick (Brenda has so far escaped this plague), the game in cancelled for tomorrow and I don't have to worry about the game notes, thankfully, until next week. I'm sneezing, coughing, congested, my nose and eyes are running, and I'm tired and achy, especially in the evening. I got home tonight, got something to eat, drank some orange juice I'd gotten at the store, and now I'm in bed listening to Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns, and blogging, but I think I'll have to blow my nose, put on my CPAP masque, and go back to bed for awhile, because I have no energy whatsoever. I hope I'm feeling better tomorrow; and at least by Monday, as it is my first day in scheduling where I'm not just training.

I won't say I won't blog again tonight, but I'm tired and don't feel like finding any interesting links. So, good night.

This is an interesting take on World War I

If World War One Was A Bar Fight. This Is Perfect.

It's essentially true. And it gave us the Lost Generation, killed millions, and set up things for World War II and beyond. We're still dealing with the mess, in some ways, especially if you throw colonialism into the mix.

I'm all for this

Why, yes we do need more women in science and engineering, especially in leadership roles

Why It's Crucial to Get More Women Into Science

Amid growing signs that gender bias has affected research outcomes and damaged women's health, there’s a new push to make science more relevant to them.

I usually know the Word of the Day

Not so today...

I am such a gadget geek

Don't you think?