January 27, 2006
32
One of these years I'm going to stop posting my age in the title of my birthday post, but I'm not sure when that'll be. I could be like some folks and just start counting backwards at a certain point, but again, that would involve some planning.
My birthday almost always sucks -- in 2003, Archi-Sapper was alerted for Iraq on the morning of my birthday and two hours later, he was on the road. I've had boyfriends break up with me on my birthday, gotten sick and had any other number of bad things happen.
This year it's been pretty laid back (so far). Archi-Sapper is out of town, but he was very sweet and brought me PJ's coffee and a muffin yesterday at work on his way out of town. And I did have to go to a deposition in Baton Rouge this morning, but it ended up being canceled when I was en route. I was on I 10 at the Donaldsonville exit when traffic really backed up. It took me about 35 minutes to go a mile, so I knew I'd never make it to the deposition I was supposed to be taking. I called plaintiff's counsel and they canceled it, which was a good thing. After I drove to the next exit I saw that a State Trooper had blocked off the interstate and was making people exit, so it was easy enough to turn around and come to the office. Now, if I could just find someone to do my work for me while I was here......
Posted by Kitty at 11:55 AM | Comments (8)
January 21, 2006
I've Got to Get Out more
create your own visited states map
Thanks to Ilyka for the link.
Posted by Kitty at 12:27 PM | Comments (3)
January 19, 2006
Books & Music
Lately I seem to have ADD, even when I'm not at work. I've been trying to read this and this and even this, but I can't seem to settle on anything I like enough to finish it. One of my book clubs just picked the book Lords of Misrule: Mardi Gras and the Politics of Race in New Orleans by Times Picayune columnist James Gill. Maybe that will pique my interest.
I've also got music on the brain right now. A good friend has burned her music collection onto DVDs for me and will be sending it to me as a post-Christmas, pre-birthday gift. I have a tradition a few years in the making where I buy myself some cd's for my birthday. This year, I think I'll just jump onto iTunes and download some stuff. I am woefully behind on music purchases, but there's no time like the present. I'm contemplating dowloading something by Sleater-Kinney, but I also want to replace Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips, as I've been wanting to listen to it lately. Ooh, actually, now that I think about it, the DVD's I'll be getting should include the Flaming Lips, so I'll need to get something else. Any suggestions?
UPDATE: When I got home from work today, I found a surprise in our mailbox. A free mix cd! One good thing about, of all things, Jane magazine, is that they put together mix cd's every so often and give them away to anyone who signs up for one and wins the lottery. This is about the fourth such lottery I've won. The cd's always have a few bands I've actually heard of and many I haven't, which is great. I love hearing new music, especially when it's free.
The cd I got today includes the following songs:
- Portions for Foxes by Rilo Kiley
- Mushaboom by Feist
- Kite by Mascott
- Jumpers by Sleater-Kinney
- Your Little Hoodrat Friend by The Hold Steady
- Abel by The National
- Reunion by Stars
- Stay by Natasha Alexandra
- Hole in the Road by Jennifer O'Conner
- Moorlough Shore by Emm Gryner
- Now by Okay
- Broken Mouth Blues by Nic Armstrong & the Thieves
- Eat Drink Sleep Think by Motormark
Posted by Kitty at 08:51 PM | Comments (3)
January 12, 2006
Show Me the Money
I was so acutely excited this afternoon at work that I almost jumped out of my desk chair and started screaming, ala Cuba Gooding, Jr. in Jerry Maguire.
I was checking my gmail account and saw an e-mail from our mortgage company. I am signed up to receive e-statements from them, as I far prefer paying bills online (I can never finds stamps). The e-mail said, "Congratulations. We have reviewed your account and your account has been paid in full. We are de-enrolling you in our e-alerts program."
I knew we were trying to pay off the mortgage, and I knew the check we got from our flood insurance was sufficient to satisfy the balance. But our mortgage company has been so difficult to deal with that I was convinced they would do anything in their power to keep us from paying off this loan, even if it didn't benefit them. But I was wrong! So wrong!
WE PAID OFF OUR MORTGAGE! One year and a half after we went to closing! Paid! Off! Done!
Suze Orman would be so proud of us.
In other, less exciting news, I went to Atlanta this week. Although I managed to squeak through the holidays without re-gaining all of the weight I lost, I think I gained at least 10 pounds while in the great state of Georgia. I swear I ate my way through that city. I had a phenomenal client dinner at this restaurant, which I highly recommend. Even the food we had brought in for the meeting itself was tasty.
The only glitch in the trip was my forgetfulness. Every time I take a trip somewhere, I forget to bring something. Usually it's something like a hair dryer or a razor -- something the hotel supplies. This time, it was deoderant. I can make do without a lot of things, but deoderant is a deal-breaker. And not so much for me, but for the poor people who have to sit next to me.
Naturally, I didn't realize that it was mising until the morning of the meeting, when I needed to put it on. I called the front desk and they assured me they could bring me a replacement. I would oh-so-grateful, got dressed and waited.
They brought me Speed Stick.
That stuff stinks. I was running late, so I threw it in my purse and ran to my meeting. When I got there I ducked into the bathroom and debated whether it was worse to smell like Speed Stick or like sweaty girl. I went with a swipe of men's deoderant under each arm and a lot of self-confidence. No one was edging away from me during the meeting, so, you know, mission accomplished.
Posted by Kitty at 08:29 PM | Comments (5)
January 01, 2006
Back on the Wagon
No, this post doesn't have anything to do with alcohol. The wagon I'm back on is a walking wagon. Archi-Sapper remembered my days of training to walk a marathon, when I was walking up to 7 or 8 miles at a time. I like to refer to those days as my days of dementia. At any rate, I was kicking some serious butt until nature intervened and New Orleans insisted upon having summer again. Not one to walk any distance in 90 degree temps with 98% humidity, I stopped walking. I spent the hours I would've normally spent walking on the internet researching treadmills. I ended that project by deciding what I wanted in a treadmill (not a lot) but didn't actually buy one.
So, Archi-Sapper bought me one for Christmas. Since we've been on the road for the past week, I hadn't actually gotten a chance to use it, but today I broke it in. I charged up the new iPod (which I absolutely love), put on my newly-purchased workout clothes and hopped on. Having finished my first session on this machine, I've decided a few things:
1.
2.
3.
It was then that I looked down at the distance calculator and saw that I had walked exactly a half of a mile.
Maybe 2006 will be my year to do something else.
Posted by Kitty at 04:48 PM | Comments (4)
bravenet.com