Drat

Lost a fish, a mostly white gold fish. I'll test the water and do a water change tomorrow if it's warranted. I scooped out the dead one for now. That leaves five goldfish and the algae eater (the latter of which is filling out already) in a 29 gallon long tank.

So, after getting back to sleep about 2 am

I woke up on my own at 6:30 am and showered, went to the grocery, picked up a friend and taken him to work, had breakfast, scored a series of books in two disciplines for a collection development tool, and then got sleepy about 10 am. I got out of my belted pants and into my pygama bottoms, kept everything else on save my necklace, and I'm took a take a nap--until 1 pm. It's just starting to warm up (the sun is coming out, because of course it's Derby Day, so there's been rain), but it was 68 degrees in the apartment, which wasn't too bad, just a touch cool for me if I wasn't doing much. But it occurred to me the tank was pretty cool, and the fish a little sluggish, and I got to looking, and the heater, which I'd left plugged up all that time, had actually been turned down all the way so it wouldn't come on (what genius did that?) :). So I turned it to 72, a little on the warm side for the goldfish, but within range, and a little cool for the algae eater, but high enough so it won't stop eating or anything. The water should gradually rise in temperature. Good to go. Now to tackle my list (but first, a diversion).

I'd gone to bed around 10 pm

because I was just really pooped after running around for several hours this evening, and then when I woke up, I thought that it was maybe 5 am (because it was still dark), and I should probably just go ahead and get up, because I have to call A to wake him up at 6:30 am.

It was 12:45 am.

So now I'm awake, it's in the middle of the night, and I have to wake up early so I can get A up and then take him to work. Sigh. Maybe I shouldn't have had coffee after all, although that was hours ago. I haven't had any caffeine of any sort (my last was a soda at 3 pm) too late.

I'd taken my meds and done all my normal bedtime things except turning the aquarium over to the blue light, so I did that. Now I'm listening the the Bastille station and contemplating whether I should do any of the three or four things I meant to accomplish tomorrow, namely:

1. Finish scoring for Doody's Core Titles (it's due Sunday, and I'll be busy then).
2. Get that job application in (I need to get one in by end of week, which is Saturday).
3. Do the game notes (due by midnight Saturday night).
4. Do a 10-15% water change for the fish tank.

I suppose I should tackle them in that order. So the plan is this: try to go back to sleep, wake up early, call A, get ready (I normally just go over in whatever I sleep in, which scares them sometimes), take him to work, come back, make coffee/eat breakfast, and start working on my list. It's supposed to be sunny and a little warmer, so I may open the windows, since most of that is on the computer, which is next to the living room windows.

I am so not sleepy now, though. :( Maybe if I just lie in the quiet, dark room it will help, but I think it'll be awhile before I get back asleep.

Despite the cool weather

I am very hot. I went to Meijer and got some jute twine and opened the windows and screens and anchored the window boxes so they won't blow over. It occurred to me that every year the bedroom one does at least once or twice, the living room near it does occasionally, and while the one nearest the building door (and therefore the most protected) usually doesn't, we'd anchor it, too. That was with upright plants, but this year the sweet potato vine, petunias, and calibrachoas will all trail, meaning they'll be front-heavy. So that made it more important. All that moving plants, opening thing and closing them, going outside to run the twine around the boxes and the like, made me very hot. Fortunately I was at Staples the other day and found a Honeywell 'air circulator', aka, a fan, just like the one Jackie let me borrow at work. I have that blowing on me, and I'm enjoying a task well done. The proof, of course, is if I can get through the season without one spilling.

While I was out I took Brenda's suggestion and went to PetsMart (Meijer had the 19 cent fish, but they looked puny). PetsMart had 29 cent goldfish that were about two inches long. I got five. I also got a golden algae eater, which I know nothing about, but it was very inexpensive and should love my tank. All in all (and this was with an $7 bottle of water conditioner) it was less than $12. So now they've been prepared, gotten used to the water, and swum out of their bags and are exploring. They seem happy, as does the other fish that had been in there. I'll have to read up on golden algae eaters.

Okay, it's almost time to take A to a meeting. I think I'll go watch the fish swim.

Today is potting/re-potting day!

First time re-potting orchids. The tiny cup was what the smaller one was in. Hopefully they'll like it. I hope they do okay--the orchid medium I got was good for several different orchids, including phalaenopsis, but not specific to that type, because the smaller one looks different when blooming and I think it's a different type. Both were in peat moss, whereas this is soaked bark, activated charcoal, and pellets for drainage. So I'm hoping they'll do okay, but they should get more air to the roots, which is good. In fact, the larger pot has holes on the sides for that purpose, and the smaller orchid went into the former pot of the larger one, and there's a shorter cup inside that lifts the roots from the bottom of the actual pot. I obviously didn't re-pot the other two because they are actually blooming. I have more medium for that when it happens.

The lavender was sagging every other day from being potbound. The Christmas cactus had very dense dirt. It had been in a bigger pot that was 40 years old and split at work, so I had to put it in an emergency pot from Recreation Therapy that was smaller. Both should do better now. Thanks to Brenda for the advice on the lavender.

Three of the African violets got re-potted [the one on the upper right, and the ones on the lower left and the center left.]

The window boxes are back! This time there are sweet potato plants, light purple petunias, and dark purple calibrachoas.

Same thing at the bedroom window.

So now everything is cleaned up, and I gave all the plants, not just the ones I potted, a good drink with the aquarium water I'd saved, so there's some fertilizer courtesy of my goldfish. I am so sore, though, even though I did it all sitting on a metal chair while potting on another. Plants are back. I've called pulmonary rehab to let them know I'm not coming today. I have another appointment at 4 pm, so I have awhile to do dishes and pull out a few light things from the hall closet. And of course I need to shower and get ready. Brenda suggested going to Petsmart for fish. I must confess, I totally forgot about them. I usually avoid them because they have cats and dogs up for adoption and I'm afraid I'll see one and try to get it (I do not need to do that right now), but the fish are on the opposite side of the store. :) There's a Petsmart in Hamburg that is closer to me than going all the way over to Southland. There's also Animal House nearby, an independent pet shop, and they're excellent and knowledgeable, but I'm not sure they sell feeder goldfish, and I tested the tank and while the nitrates are down, I'm not sure I want to put anything else in there right now.

Okay, time to check my list and see what else to do right now. I may stretch out for just a bit, listen to some music, and then work on the dishes, closet, and do the job application and do some job board searching. going to PetsMart after my appointment with my counselor. I'm really aching.

Sadly

Incredipet on Richmond Road no longer sells fish, leaving the Southland location the only one that (presumably, or at least that was indicated) does. So no feeder goldfish yet. I did get the water test kit, though. Even their aquarium supply selection was slim. I am sad.

Still have a ways to go

But here is the revived aquarium, with its lone fish. :)

Up early

So I didn't really sleep well last night. I got A from work at 1 am, got in bed by 2, was still awake at 3, woke up at 5:30, and slept fitfully until 6:30, when I called to wake him up for his next shift. I then loaded three boxes of books into the car, moved my bread machine and the canisters to one side of the counter, moved my microwave onto the kitchen island (it's been in the dining room on a microwave cart for years), then left and was over there by 7:15, took him to work, then came back and made some scrambled eggs (the last of those). I moved a few more things around in the kitchen. It's not where I'd like things, but I think it will work better. The main reason I moved the microwave is that during my waking moments I considered putting the 3-gallon tank together and moving it. It's in the bedroom right now. But I'd rather it be in the living or dining room. I did consider the table the peace lily is on, but it's one of those flimsy occasional tables, and even three gallons of water can 1) be pretty heavy for something like that and 2) do damage to the books behind it if it falls over, not to mention problems with the fish.

So I think I'll put the tank on the microwave cart, and then something I had on top of the microwave can go where the tank is now. I didn't think the tank should go on the microwave. It's too heavy, I think, and I'm not sure whether that would be good for the fish. I've had my microwave since December of 1991 and I'd like it to keep working. :)

It's very humid inside and out (I still haven't called about the air conditioning, which is bad, as it's supposed to be 88 degrees today). I'll call tomorrow. I've opened the bedroom window, had some cool water, and I think I'm going to put the fan on and try to rest till about 10 am. I want to be over to the game master's by 11, as he lets me use his washer and dryer, and I'd like to do bedding as well as the small amount of clothes I have this week. That way they should be finished by the time Brenda (who was posting on Facebook five hours ago, so she must have had a bit of insomnia) comes, and we can focus on play.

Have a great day!

I had four goals tonight

1. Finish the game notes, even though it meant reliving the loss of the character. [Check]
2. Get the living room in serviceable shape so I can sit on the loveseat and actually watch something if I'd like. [Check]
3. Get the dining room in enough shape that I could get a bucket from the bathroom to the aquarium (which is in the dining room). [Check]
4. Fill up the aquarium and then vacuum it as thoroughly as I can. [Check}

I'm hoping the one remaining goldfish (which is the biggest, prettiest one I had) will not die, with this major influx and change of water. But I'd let the aquarium languish, to the point where it was too low to keep the pump on, and there was a lot of Java moss, too, which tends to choke the remaining water. I have most likely the dirtiest aquarium known to man, mainly because I can't get those stupid 'self-starting' vacuums to work, and I've gotten enough knowledge of aquariums and infection control that I didn't want to do the old 'suck on the hose until it starts' that we did in the old days. I have three vacuums, two large, one small, all 'self-starting'. The small one is actually for the three-gallon betta tank that is currently not set up.

Well, I took an old Tidy Cat five-gallon bucket (not a liquid five gallons, but you get the idea), and filled up the bucket three times with water, and put it in the aquarium, which brought it up to the right height. I also changed the foam and activated charcoal in the filter (but not the anti-ammonia pellets--you should always keep some of the medium so that good bacteria that eat nitrates and therefore keep down algae blooms spread throughout the filter). I then plugged in the filter and discovered, to my dismay, that the heater had been plugged up all this time, in not so much water, which I don't know what that does. I think it shut itself off, at least. I cleared out some of the Java moss and then I let the filter run for a couple of hours, till the milm was settled on the floor of the aquarium and the water was clear.

Enter the turkey baster. Years ago, a former friend had given it to me as a gag gift, which had nothing to do with eating, as I don't eat poultry. It was still in the original plastic, some time ago, because of course I rarely throw anything away. I had used it once before to start the suction on the vacuum, and tried again. But the large vacuums have very long hoses, and I am too short to properly get the water and detritus into the container from my height, with the hose on the bottom floor of the aquarium and the container on the floor of the apartment. I decided to try the smaller vacuum, with a shorter hose, used the turkey baster to get the suction going, and then vacuumed two two-litres and a gallon milk jug's worth of gunk and water, which I capped and saved to water the plants with, as it's good fertilizer.

I then planted the plants back in, righted the tree branch and gargoyle, and found the little cave the fish like to go into. I replaced the lost water with six two-litres full of clean treated water and got some of the algae off the glass top. I certainly didn't get all the sediment, but I didn't want to shock the fish's system any more than I had done already. I then put away everything, scrubbed my arms down with soap and water, and I'm going to wait and see what it's going to look like when everything settles, then wait a week or two, and vacuum again. If I can get it looking halfway decent, I'll check the water (my chlorine, ammonia, and chloramines are always fine, the pH is hard, given that we're sitting atop lots of limestone, and my nitrates (but not my nitrates) are always very high, which is why I've had feeder goldfish in the tank for years. Of course, goldfish are very 'dirty' fish. They poop a lot, which causes the milm to build up, and the nitrates. Maybe if I can get things under control, I can go back to other fish, like livebearers and plecostomuses, while keeping the goldfish. You are probably thinking, just set the three-gallon up and put the goldfish in there. The problem with that is that goldfish actually need quite a bit of room, and goldfish bowls actually stress them out, and they die quickly. And while they usually prefer colder water than livebearers, mine's use to warmer water. So there's that. We'll see how it goes. I've had trouble with this set-up since I put the aquarium back together years ago. It never matured correctly, even with adding nitrate-eating bacteria and letting it 'cure' before putting fish in. I never had that trouble before, and the aquarium has been up most of the last thirty years, and the only thing I've really changed is the type of filter (better than the old undergravel ones) and that worked for years, and I've put an LED light in rather than flourescent, which provides more natural and long-lasting light. So I don't know. I did fine for over twenty years. Maybe it's somehow how the aquarium has aged. The gravel is the same gravel, albeit having been washed with water (not soap or anything) between set-ups. In the meantime, I'll cut the long hoses down to a better length. Anyway, here's hoping that everything's going to get better, and I get to be a better 'fish mom', not letting stress make me ignore the poor fish and the tank.

I applied

for the first of four jobs that are open right now in the area that are library-related. It is a full-time children's library at the Lexington Public Library, Central Library. Wish me luck. I have taken classes in children's literature and children's programming in libraries, initiated a local site for the Reach Out and Read early literacy program. I've done some children's programming, and I started a family resource center focused on parenting and health topics using grant monies. So, while I've been a hospital librarian for all these years, I've done this, too, and I made sure I put them in the application. Also, I've supervised high school volunteers who were from a special education program. I've been a solo librarian all this time, but I did do that, including having a young lady who was interested in computers help me with the cataloguing. It was a great experience.

Wish me luck!

The other three are all academic positions: a library manager position, a faculty digital humanities librarian (both at Young Library), and a health sciences librarian in instructional design/nursing liaison, also a faculty position, and that one's at the Chandler Medical Library, where I know several staff (and one of my references is there, and three of my references are nurses). I hope one of these four pans out. :)

I dropped off the family resource books from the hospital as a donation to the Lexington Public Library today. There were three big boxes (I didn't pack them, so they were kind of heavy; I think my hand truck, which is rated at 300 lbs, might have been tested). I'd say there were about 200 books. I think they'd be excellent for their collection, or there is a Friends of the Library sale in April.

That leaves about a third of the library books (most went to the new facility in various offices) to box up and give to charity. There are some things upstairs, as well. I have to make a guide to using the UK Med library (there is no affiliation agreement on library services, but any resident of the Commonwealth of Kentucky can use the library and get a library card, and they are across the street on the other side of the hospital from the new facility). I need to finish changing our DOCLINE holdings to the electronic journals they will still have. All my stuff is basically home already--the plants, the various stuff from the desk, a few professional books, etc. I still need to bring the MLA News and the Journal of the Medical Library Association issues in, as well as a vase, and a I found that needs to go to the new head of the membership committee of the Hospital Libraries Section of the Medical Library Association (they're buttons with the logo, which I had when I was chair), but everything else is in the house. Now I just have to figure where to put things. :) The plants, at least, are in the window. I was afraid they weren't getting much light, but I was home during the afternoon sunlight, and I think they'll be okay. But it's afternoon sun, not the overhead and north-eastern exposure they're used to. So we'll see.

YKWIA wanted to be alone with his thoughts today, and I guess I wouldn't be great company, either, since I'm a little sad about the whole library closing thing and afraid about being unemployed, so I need to work on the game notes and work on the apartment some.

I did speak to the librarian at St. Joseph Hospital here in Lexington. She's hosting a Kentucky Medical Library Association meeting April 4th, and I don't have anything else planned, so I can go. She wanted to make sure I knew, especially as I'm still an individual member of the association. I had sent out a goodbye message to the electronic list the other day. She and another librarian were interested in the group that took our journals, so I gave her some contact information and will get back with the other librarian this week.

I'm kind of mellow, as I've been listening to Pandora, the Ed Sheeran station, although Coldplay's 'Yellow' is playing right now. I think I'm going to go listen to an audiobook (The Arm and the Stone, by Victoria Strauss, and scrounge up dinner, and then really work on the house. Among other things, the fish are getting low on their water in the tank. I am a bad fish mom. I've had several for years, feeder goldfish that are fairly pretty, and there are two left, in a 29-gallon tank. I'm thinking of cleaning everything out and starting over, with the fish in a small tank till the big one gets well-established. It's always had trouble with nitrates (which aren't as dangerous as other things, but most fish don't do well, and there are algae blooms), from the get go, the first time I ever had trouble with them. It doesn't matter how much I clean it, the nitrates stay up, even with an established aquarium. So we'll see. I'm not sure I can get away with a three-gallon tank temporarily housing two fish, as goldfish actually need some space, but I'll try to do something. But right now I have to do something, as they're not happy.

Okay, I'm going to sign off for now. At least I got that application in (Monday at 9 am is the deadline). My computer was giving me fits and I had to restart it. Hopefully it'll keep going--I certainly can't pay for a new one right now, and unlike a desktop, I can't really fix laptops. I guess the principles are the same, but everything's so smaller, and there's a battery. I'd rather replace something in a desktop (I can do modems, drives, memory cards, etc., and I think I could do a power supply but haven't). But laptops are a different story. But I think mine has to do with the fact that it's a Windows 8 machine running Windows 10 and it's four years old, which is kind of old for a computer. My desktop (which YKWIA has borrowed) was originally a Windows 7 machine, and it sometimes has issues, and seems to not like him in general, though it works for me (I used to have the same trouble with his Windows 7 machine). I know machines do not 'like' certain operators over others, but it seems electronics can be temperamental. I know I've had people who used our copier who jammed it every time, to the point where I would meet them at the door and ask to make the copies myself. I've come over to the copier and just touched it, and it's been fine. Just saying. Anyway, I may write later. I'm hungry (I had cheese and bread for breakfast, along with lima beans, and I had a can of peas for lunch, so I haven't had much today). Next week is right before payday AND the dietary department will no longer be serving hot food (they aren't going to the new facility, either). So I'll have to figure out what I can take. I've got a couple of cans of vegetarian chili and some vegetarian burgers. That may be what I eat. In case I don't get back here to write tonight, good night.

Back from my friend's house

This was originally going to be a day when I was just going to do stuff at home, but YKWIA e-mailed me about 11 to ask about going to see the newest X-Men movie at the discount theatre. But the reviews were awful, so we decided no. I had suggested The Secret Lives of Pets, as I have free passes to the regular theatres at Fayette Mall and Woodhill, but we decided to wait on that because it's opening weekend and the crowds will be large, and in this case, involve a lot of kids, which would probably annoy him today. We were e-mailing back and forth and then I went on over before the last e-mail about waiting till next week, so I stayed over for three hours and visited, worked on his back, which was hurting, and watched a couple of episodes of 'Cybill' while he ate (I wasn't hungry at the time, so declined the offer of food. Now that I'm home I'm very hungry and have had a lunch of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and some string cheese.) Although I was enjoying being over there, I really need to work on my house, as I never got much accomplished last weekend with the power outage. So I have my list of things to do broken up into manageable tasks, and we'll see how much I can get done the rest of the day.

Next week should be interesting around here. Our parking lot is being repaved and striped, and they've divided the complex into three sections, each taking a couple of days to work on (depending on weather), in which we'll have to find alternative parking, most likely on the two streets that intersect on our corner. Since I'm in the area of the property furthest from the street, it'll be a bit of a walk. Also, there are days when the apartment numbers overlap, and so it will take four days of not parking there. Guess which set I'm in? So basically, I can't park in front of my apartment from 8 pm on the 12th to sometime on the 16th (depending on whether they work on Saturday) or 18th (if they only work on weekdays)--and that's if the weather cooperates. Fun, fun, fun. Fortunately they gave us plenty of notice.

My plants, both inside and outside, look a little dry. I should water them today. If I have time, I should clean the fish tank this weekend; goldfish are very dirty fish, and even though it's a 29-gallon long aquarium, and there are only four goldfish, they produce a lot of mulm. The one in the bedroom, the 3-gallon one, should be have a water change, too, although I don't have a betta in there at the moment, as the other one did eventually die. I'd like to get another one later in the month.

Okay, I'm going to sign off here for now. Hope your weekend is going well.

PS

The heat's back on,  the fan is back in the bedroom,  I've brushed my teeth and done my nightly routine. The door is chained,  the aquaria lights and all the others are off,  so both the fish and I have better rest. I don't even think I am up to music tonight--I'm pretty sleepy.  Good night.

So much for going on to bed

But I did get the fish tanks filled,  so that's one task for tomorrow that's already finished.  Of course,  I may have overdone it.  I'm using a five pound dry weight bucket and the first trip I didn't have a chair ready and lifted it from the floor,  which is not good for someone with neck issues and little upper body strength.  If I keep that up I'll be back in PT before I know it.  Let's not do that.

Good night for real,  this time.

Two great things to be happy about:

1. My relative (okay, my mom, I'm never sure just what to share online) is out of the hospital and at home.
2. I have as much of tomorrow as I want to recharge, regroup, and do various things to de-stress and get things back on track, which is awesome.

Oh, here's maybe a third: on my way home I was driving and someone tried to cross into my lane. I was probably in his blind spot. I honked to alert him, and he backed off, so neither of us were hurt, etc. Yay for that!

So, what am I going to do with my time? Well, tonight, I am going to go on to bed soon and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, there's:

1. Listening to the Top 40 countdown.
2. Putting stuff back in their place in the closets. [Partially done.]
3. Straightening up the house. [Partially done.]
4. Doing the rest of my laundry (I got some done tonight at my friends' house, but we decided to record 'Grimm' and watch it later, so I didn't do the last load. Fortunately, I think I have enough quarters now.
5. Putting up the holiday decorations.
6. Doing the dishes in the dishwasher.
7. Exercising at the complex gym (while doing my laundry, most likely, as they're in the same building).
8. Watering the plants again.
9. Putting water in the fish tanks.
10. Vacuuming.
11. Listening to music.
12. Working on the game notes.
13. Reading (maybe finally pick up Library of Souls and run with it).

We will probably not be playing on Sunday, since Brenda has a Society for Creative Anachronism event on Saturday and a rather long drive, but I'd like to have them finished nevertheless. Okay, I think I'll head on to bed. Good night!

PS I finally saw the Australian comedy 'The Librarians', which I'd heard discussed on various librarian electronic lists in terms of images of librarians, not to be confused with the spin-off of The Librarian movies with Noah Wyle. Oh, my goodness, what a cast of characters. And Frances says the most terrible things! YKWIA has a Hulu subscription, and so can get them. I'm interested in seeing more.

It is 3:30 on a particularly gorgeous autumn Sunday afternoon

and I am unexpectedly at home, as Brenda called earlier and couldn't play the game due to being sick. So I've opened the windows (even the bedroom one, which took a screwdriver, but that should be fixed this week, as I finally had them put in a work order when I paid my rent Friday). The sun (which we haven't seen in days) is streaming through to the plants, and there is a light breeze. I am eating some of the string cheese I brought for the game. So far today I have:

1. Done my laundry.
2. Worked my way through my Sunday cleaning list at my friends' house.
3. Gotten two back rubs from a friend who was thankful for my help with cleaning and knew my back was bothering me.
4. Listened to my friend's Ella Fitzgerald albums.
5. Checked dogs over for any issues after they got into it over food (which I missed, thankfully)--now they're being separated till they cool off. These two have never fought before and one is very submissive, so it was a surprise, although of course any dog can go off it it feels another is encroaching on its food. They're normally separated for that reason, to opposite ends of the room, and unfortunately one butted into the other's space. But they seem to have relatively minor injuries, thankfully. It doesn't help that they're both terriers, which means they become absolutely focused, even berserk, when riled.
6. Watched a little 'Golden Girls' with a friend. My God, I really am Rose, and that is absolutely terrifying. I would probably be the smartest person in St Olaf, but I'd still fit in.
7. Worked on a friend's feet and back, which were bothering him, and fixed him food, not in that order.

On the agenda for the rest of the day:

1. A nap. Yes, definitely.
2. Listening to some '80s alternative music on Pandora.
3. Reading some more of Hollow City--I only have three days left on my checkout.
4. Watching something fun either on DVD or Netflix. [It was Galaxy Quest. What a fun movie to watch again. 'Never give up, never surrender!']
5. Watering the plants, inside and out.
6. Putting some more water in the fish tanks (before they get low).

Notice I haven't mentioned cleaning in awhile--I've kept the house neat and orderly since the last real cleaning push. I've washed dishes and taken out trash as needed, the latter even during the rain, as well as kept the bathroom neat and cleaned it when needed. I've made my bed every day for the last two-and-a-half weeks. So I'm building better habits, at least for now.

Today I:

1. Worked in scheduling, the library, and the revenue cycle aspects of my job.
2. Picked up a friend from an appointment after work.
3. Took another friend to an appointment.
4. Read three chapters of Hollow City while waiting at the appointment.
5. Got some gas.
6. Took my friend home.
7. Checked out Facebook and blogged.
8. Turned out all the lights except for the hallway and fish tanks, lit two lavender candles and some incense, and enjoyed the resulting scents and relaxing waterfall of the large tank.
9. Tried to get the wind-up clock that my dad brought from Japan on the way back from Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War to stay going. I can't quite seem to get it level, even when using a level, and it will run for about 10 minutes and then stop. Yet again, this has happened, although I thought I'd actually gotten it for a few minutes.
10. Updated some things on the computer.
11. Set my Dropbox settings so it doesn't automatically connect. Often when I'm at my friends' house, I turn off the Wi-Fi because they don't have it there, and I don't want my battery on the laptop going down. But then Dropbox tries to connect when I turn the computer back on at home, and it takes what seems like forever (but seriously, at least a half an hour) to get the connexion menu to come up so I can even connect, and I think it's because Dropbox is stuck in a connexion loop, as the computer isn't connected, but it's trying to. When I changed the settings I suddenly had control over my computer again. It was a little sluggish, so something else is happening too. This doesn't happen on the desktop--Windows 10 actually sped it up, but it's connected at all times. The laptop is a different story entirely. I must figure out what settings or programs are interfering with things. I can right click to get the menu on the start button, but not left click it, for example, while it's bogged down doing something. And I checked, it wasn't automatically going into update mode or anything. Maybe it's the AVG anti-virus program, but it doesn't seem to be updating or scanning when this happens, although, of course, it's running in the background. Any ideas?
12. Was going to go ahead and work on the notes for awhile, but decided I've already spent too much time just fiddling with the computer, and my wrists are hurting already. I think I'll get the recording over to the laptop from the voice recorder, at least, but the rest of it will have to wait till Friday (as tomorrow I'm over at YKWIA's watching 'Heroes Reborn' with him, after a trip to the pharmacy for a medicine we couldn't get the other day because A was so busy he forgot to go to his appointment and get his prescription, which he got today instead. We just couldn't go to the pharmacy today because YKWIA had an appointment, and I couldn't do both and get it all accomplished by the time the pharmacy closed and still get him to his appointment. So, tomorrow it is.

I think I'm going to blow out the candles and head back to the bedroom, maybe listen to some music. I'm also going to run the dishwasher. I'd like to watch something on Netflix, but I don't think I'd make it a full hour if I tried, much less two. I'm going to try to go to work early tomorrow and make up a half-hour that I'm short on. Normally I'm in scheduling Monday through Wednesday, but our clinic numbers are high tomorrow so it's Tuesday through Thursday this week. I've spent all of today thinking it was Tuesday as a result. :)

I am really tired of peanut butter and jam

And I really want pizza, but can't afford it, so I scarfed down two bananas a friend gave me because they were past the time he'd eat them, and I've made the rest of the mini farfalle with some jar sauce. Now I'm really burning up. I'll have to go over to the fan soon. I was trying to hang a picture above the TV, but that isn't working so well. It's a three-picture set, one large, two small, antique maps of the world. I can't seem to get it lined up just right. I may have to break out the level and stud finder, although I think the two hangers on the larger picture are too close together to both go in a stud, as they're 13 inches apart. We'll see.

After work (which went pretty well today, my last day in scheduling for the week, and I got the rest of my shipment of children's books while I was over there), I went over to a friend's house to help him out with a few things. Then I came home and discovered I'd lost power sometime today, and the filter on the fish tank was trying valiantly to get water up into it without success, so I took care of that, put some more water in the tank, cleaned the algae off the glass, pulled out a lot of Java moss and put it out on the geraniums as fertilizer, and generally cleaned up the tank, and I can actually see the fish now. I'm afraid I was being a bad fish mom.

I'm pretty tired, and hot. I'm going to go get in front of the fan now that I've eaten, and try not to fall asleep. I've toted the fan out here two evenings in a row, and toted it back. I don't feel like doing that tonight, really, nor do I feel like taking the laptop with me to bed, as it tends to hurt my back after awhile to type in bed. It's much better here on the dining table. Anyway, I may write some more in a little while, but just in case, good night.

Home for now

I have been so sleepy all day. I just want to take a nap, but I'm afraid I'll actually go to sleep. A and I might be going to the grocery tonight since they have plans with family tomorrow. I've been up since about 4:30 am straight, and of course had interrupted sleep all night, but that was my own fault. I just got something from Microsoft asking about the upgrade experience, which allowed me to not only rate but comment, so I told them about the compatibility report issue and alternative I used.

One thing I did not even think about doing when I was off (I did beforehand, but promptly forgot) was to get my allergy shots, so I did that today after work.

Last night a friend got us Chinese food from Jin Jin, and I got a fortune cookie but forgot to eat it. I just found it in my bag when I went to get a banana. It says: 'Ignore previous cookie.' :) Ha ha. It's been awhile; I don't remember what the last one said, but I remember I wasn't happy with it. So, good.

The sun is shining brightly through the windows, and the aquarium is producing a gentle fall of water. The fish are very happy to have full tanks. I love the late afternoons in my apartment. And the houseplants have bounced back where they were looking a bit peaked before I watered them. I just watered the outside ones as soon as I got home, because I forgot them.

I really do want to take a nap. Really. :) Instead, I guess since I've eaten dinner, I including a delicious if odd fortune cookie, I should head over there and discover what we're doing tonight, Brain. Of course, the answer is always 'try to take over the world'.

Things I'd like to do tonight:

1. Bake two loaves of bread, one for A, one for myself.
2. Clean out the bedroom nightstand.
3. Rearrange TV stand.
4. Consolidate plants.
5. Water plants.
6. Fill up the fish tanks.
7. Put things back in the walk-in closet that are out because the air conditioning leaked.
8. Go through clothes to give away.
9. Put away clothes.
10. Go through library books and get those that need to go back together.
11. Go to the library, pick up a hold, and turn the other books back in.
12. Go over bills and finances. [on Thursday]
13. Clean out the refrigerator.
14. Take out trash.
15. Take out recyclables.
16. Corral the plastic bags and put them in the car trunk.
17. Find the source of yet a new crop of fruit flies (I've been careful to put banana peels in a bag immediately and the like). There's not a huge amount, but it's troubling.
18. Put photos back in their drawer.
19. Organise medicines.
20. Organise phone covers.
21. Straighten up desk.

That should be plenty to do, don't you think? But I'm going to try not to lie down or otherwise set myself up to go to sleep. I feel pretty awake now. I'm going to start with the nightstand because I'm right next to it, and go from there. But I'll try to write later.

I went to turn the light out

On the small aquarium.  The betta was swimming above the round bubble wand,  playing in the bubbles.  He does that fairly often.  It's fun to watch.  When I had the one with the LED lights that changed colours,  the last one would hide under it to avoid the light. I think it hurt his eyes,  even though that's what came with the tank.  Then I took it out and put a white light that clips above the tank in,  and a normal bubble stone.  This one has only known this setup.  He only sits under the stone when resting.  Otherwise he's swimming around the three-gallon tank or playing with the bubbles. I think he enjoys it,  and it's much better than those little cups or vases they normally put those fish in.