Weight Watchers it is, then. Too many comments about how I could do with losing a bit of weight outnumbering the comments about the contrary.
No wonder I wasn't losing any weight before: last Monday and Tuesday I ate about 50% more points than I'm supposed to. Oops.
Ok sing it! Live!
...
That's all right, just keep trying.
Sometimes it pays not to pay. Like when you get second thoughts about your trip to Asia this summer after hearing about SARS. We hadn't paid, therefore our tickets weren't something-or-othered yet, and we only needed to pay the handling fee. Phew. (did somebody sneeze?)
1. What was the last TV show you watched?
Sabrina. No, Coupling.
2. What was the last thing you complained about?
The amount of complaints from someone.
3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say?
Him. I told him "that" was just what I needed.
4. What was the last thing you threw away?
A piece of candy. One of the children had had it and decided not to eat it. I decided not to eat it because I wasn't entirely sure what had happened to it in the mean time.
5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited?
Honey B. Fly. Shoot, the only available tour dates are in the US and Canada. Figures.
Jumper's knee, he says. Chronical, he says. Or one to five years, he says. Get the MRI scan, and we'll talk again, he says. Sounds like it could be soon, doesn't it? Well, I'll be lucky to speak to him again before my holiday. Fukcing waiting lists, fucking hospital, fucking injury, fuck fuck fuck! Patients/ce?
Everything - food and non-food alike - is turning orange. Oh, excuse me: Orange. Must be nearly 30 April, because I can't think of any major international sports events going on (not counting cricket).
Remember this:
I have to return the Mini after the test drive
I have to return the Mini after the test drive
I have to return the Mini after the test drive
I have to return the Mini after the test drive
I have to return the Mini after the test drive
I have to return the Mini after the test drive
I have to return the Mini after the test drive
I have to return the Mini after the test drive
I have to return the Mini after the test drive
(giggle)
1. Yummier: Chocolate ice cream or strawberry cheesecake?
Both (together). Ehm, right. Does Halfbaked count as chocolate?
2. Better to watch on TV: Movies or sports?
Is this even worth answering? Well, for those who really don't know me: movies.
3. A better web browser: MSIE or Netscape (or tell us your own favorite!)
Eh? I haven't had the pleasure of free choice in browsers for nearly a decade, so how should I know?
4. A better way to travel: Automobile or bus/train?
Automobile with someone else at the wheel! Saves all the akward changing, waiting for nothing in horrible weather, loud noises you don't control... it could be quicker, too. And as long as you're not the one driving, you get to read and/or play with the stereo.
5. Your preferred camera: Digital or film?
This may sound familiar: both/depends on occasion. I'm more used to film, and theoretically you get better quality, but then with digital, it's easier to show to those living slightly further than just down the road, and after the initial investment of the camera, it's easier to dismiss the (total) failures.
6. A Cooler Vehicle: Motorcycle or sports car?
Neither. Offroad or mini, now that's a choice.
7. More fun: Video games or board games?
Board games.
8. Sexier: A perfect body or an intelligent mind?
Both! All right, if I have to chose: an intelligent mind.
9. A stinkier smell: Skunk or gasoline (petrol)?
Never smelled skunk.
10. Thought-provoking question of the week: What is more important to you: making a ton of money and being at the top of your field, or finding your soulmate and living a comfortable but not wealthy life?
Easy: soulmate and comfort over money and 'success'.
... here!
Have I run out of patience? Maybe. If so, what can be done? V.G. question. Meaning, of course: I haven't the sligtest.
Music in my head: Out of reach - Gabrielle
I'm not sure that's the right word for it. Last day of my holiday, I woke up with a bad, bad, headache. Headache, not hangover, mind you, despite appearances. Believe me, I can tell the difference.
After applying various painkilling techiniques (pills, more pills, water, throwing up, holding cold bottle to head, attempts at more sleep, food, plainly ignoring it, watching Ready Steady Cook) it went away, and we went for a walk.
If we hadn't been so tired anyway we would have cut our walk short to get back in time for my flight. So far, so good (even finished BJD).
Cue to 18:25. Airport. Hugs goodbye. Kisses goodbye. Don't let go!
Right, which gate is my plain, and have they started boarding yet?
Of course they haven't! The plane has been delayed by half an hour. I feel like crying. I hold the tears back until I'm well in my seat. Could I have another hug, please?
I don't like traveling. No, that's not true. I don't like waiting. Alone. Delays. Why did I feel this infinite sadness? Because I missed Robin? Because my trip was over? Going home? Couldn't get home fast enough? Just tired?
Stupid airport announced the wrong arrivals gate on the screen, so there was no one there when I walked out of the gate. There was someone at the airport to pick me up, and they were very glad to see me, and had even bought flowers. Awwwwww
Typically, I woke up with the same excruciating headache this morning. Almost, but not quite, severe enough to stay home from work.
You don't know HOW I suffer - Mrs Bennet
1. Now that the weather (in America, that is) is getting nice and warm, what have you been looking forward to doing the most?
Just getting? Ha! Here and there it's already been nice at least all of last week. I have been looking forward most to long walks in good company. Check. Long evenings in my garden, too (that'll be a while).
2. On Easter, I had to run around all day visiting family. It turned what was supposed to be a special day and turned me into one big stress-ball. Do you enjoy spending time with your family (parents, siblings, etc.) or do you prefer to see them now and then?
Now and then, the lot of'em. Most people - including family - don't understand me, and that makes it rather tiresome to be around them. Especially when they expect interaction rather than mere pressance.
3. Did your parents play along with the whole "Easter Bunny" legend? Did you eventually figure it out or did someone tell you? How did that make you feel?
Easter Bunny legend? Whassat? My uncle used to hide dozens of coloured, boiled eggs when I was little and still enjoyed big family gatherings. I always knew it was my uncle, though. Was just fun to try and find more eggs than my cousins.
4. This isn't necessarily a religious question (although it certainly can be if you'd like), but what does "Easter" mean to you personally?
Time off, overfeeding and family overdose. Very secular. I do believe in the whole "Died on the cross for our sins" and "And on the third day..." schebang, in fact participated in a nice piece of choir work which brought that message home nicely, so, not so secular after all. Maybe.
5. When I was a kid, we didn't have plastic Easter Eggs (except for those that came with Mom's L'eggs pantyhose), so we always hid real eggs. One Easter I remember I threw away a broken egg in my bedroom trash can and it took me weeks before I realized why my room smelled like something died in there. Do you have any funny or memorable Easter stories?
Well, the big family gatherings, which were fun when my cousins and I still udnerstood each other. The gatherings started really losing there meaning for me when my grandfather died (we got together to celebrate the ressurection of Jesus and the birth of my grand father). Ooh, and I have some fond (but vague) memories of making Easter trees at school.
6. I currently watch way, way too many TV shows. In fact, I feel some relief that some are being cancelled or are ending because I just can't give any of them up. Is there anything you do too much of and just can't stop?
Eat chocolate. Drink coffee. Procrastinate. Not necessarily in that same order. And I should include: Self doubt.
7. Long ago, I took a leadership seminar. At one point the leader gave his philosphy on life: the three things that matter most in life are "your family, your religion and your job, and what they mean to you." Would you agree? What are the three things that matter most in life?
I disagree! It's phrased all wrong. What matters most in life is happiness. I think what they are trying to say, then, is that your happiness is correlated with those three. I still don't wholy agree, as such. What matters most in my life is my Chosen Family, Art (including religion - not v.v.), and Purpose (sometimes including work/job).
I did it: finished The Hobbit in time! In time to not have to bring it to Norway - I have enough luggage as it is (I might have to pay for a ticket just for luggage soon).
I checked the edition I got, well, sort of. It's illustrated by Alan Lee. Only, in the bookstore, I saw there's The Hobbit and a Lord of the Rings (all three books in one) with a gold line, and the three LotR books separately without the gold line. Is it or is it not a different edition? I don't mind it being different, as long as I know that there is no edition of the three books with the gold. I do not want to get them in one, they're heavy enough as separate books, thank you very much.
1. File taxes as early as possible, or wait until the last possible minute?
Contrary to what you might expect: as early as possible.
2. File electronically, or mail paper forms?
Electronically, duh!
3. Prepare your own taxes, or have someone do it for you?
My own. Yes, the disk does most of the calculations, and reminds me which data I'm missing, but I have to hunt and enter the data myself.
4. Are you a saver or a spender?
Spender. In the end, aren't we all?
5. Do you prefer to carry cash, or pay with plastic (credit/debit cards), or by check?
None of the above. I'm trying desperately to cut back on (immediate) spending. When I am spending, cash is both easier to keep track of and easier to spend. My personal method is to drive my bank nuts with the amount of accounts I have and the number of transactions between them. Gotta keep them on their feet!
6. You're broke and desperately need a job, but the only places that are hiring are retail or fast food places. Which would you pick?
Retail. Can't stand the smell of ffp's, even for just a short visit.
7. Keeping track of your money: are you more meticulous or careless about it?
Depends on the day of the week.
8. What do you do if you find yourself with a lot of change weighing down your purse/pocket/wallet? Do you try to spend it to *get rid of it*, or do you put it in a jar or a piggy bank?
I put it in a piggy bank (well, froggy bank, technically), until my purse/main spending account gets so light the wind might take it, then I let the money flow back into my purse.
9. Which form of fake money do you like better...Monopoly money or those chocolate coins covered with gold foil?
Monopoly. It's better for counting, and the chocolate coins aren't made of the best chocolate.
10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You find a wallet containing $5,000 in cash, as well as several credit cards and the owner's drivers' license. Your rent is due tomorrow and you're short $200. Do you take the money (some or all of it) and mail back the wallet anonymously...or do you return the wallet with all contents intact?
Return it intact. Had there been no id (cards, license) in it, I might have deducted a finder's fee before handing it in with the police.
When I was living in Rotterdam, I would hate marathon day, because it completely clogged up all the main roads and public transport. Two years ago I left the city, and last year I was one of the runners on marathon day. I loved it!
When I go to work every day, I have to change trains at the airport, and both the trains to and from the airport are regularly clogged with passengers with far too much luggage, which can be really annoying. Today, I was on the train myself, with 2 suitcases and 2 back packs. Too much luggage, why? To make it especially enjoyable for my fellow travellers, there was a problem with the railway and twice the normal amount of people had to squeeze into a half of normal size train. Go figure.
... with the sound of five musical musings
1. What was the first band you saw in concert?
Band? Ahum. Well, I saw one of the first concerts in Amsterdam Arena in 1996, and it was packed. Tina Turner, live. Wow, I'd wish I can still move like that when I'm that age! Ehm, no, I don't go to pop concerts a lot.
2. Who is your favorite artist/band now?
Pick one, you mean? Paul Simon. No, The Beatles. Or just Paul McCartney. Mariah Carey? Red Hot Chillie Peppers. Nick Cave! Right...
3. What's your favorite song?
Favourite song, ever? These questions do not get any easier as we go along, do they? Actually: When you believe - Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Or, as it may be: the actresses and the children's choir doing the voices in the film. It's just that I only got the MC&WH version on CD (and single - probably the only single I got), and the film only on dvd.
4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
I CAN play an instrument, the guitar. Another one I fancy playing is the saxophone, and I would be damn good at it, too, said my instructor, if only I could get around to practicing (which I didn't, so I quit, which I half regret: the half that want to play - the other half can't find the time to practice)
5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?
Mariah Carey. No, Paul Simon. Make that Nick Cave. Paul McCartney. Bach! Schubert? Hmm, Thcaikovsky. Prokovjev!
Music in my head: the jingle to a discount grocery store. It's really good - the jingle. And the store is good, too, although the discounts aren't that big.
Is curl up into a ball and SLEEP!
It's the cold, I swear. It's making me want to hybernate, like all the other hedgehogs...
Not fair, not fair, not fair. Definitely something lurking in the water. Going home now, for support. NOT FAIR!
When a plane crashes, you die, end of story. When the plane doesn't crash, you might contract SARS, and die anyway, end of story.
Either way, you have more change of dieing in a car crash.
Introducing a new contender: trains. Apparantly, the doors on trains can be opened while the train is going along at 100 miles an hour. That doesn't sound very safe, does it? It doesn't make trains sound any more safe knowing that couplings can also fail at those speeds. Oops, we lost the last couple of wagons!
That probably means that statistically, I will die in a train accident, right? That being the form of transportation I use most of all.
Don't let me fall ill now! Surely you can see this would be a very, very bad time: I'm busy at work, the concert is this Sunday, and I'm flying North this Monday! So what's with all the sneezing and the pain in the diodes all down my left side?
Great party, really froody, and not just because I was showered in compliments (thanks, uncle T and aunt M!).
Hm, too bad it takes seven positives to undo one negative. I've still got a balance to get settled, don't I. See my predicament?
"They ask me 'What are you on?' I tell them, I'm on my bike 6 hours a day busting my ass. What are YOU on?" -Lance Armstrong
TGIF. Would I feel the same on Thursdays if I were to make Friday my regular day off, I wonder. Feel how? Doggone tired, that's how. More sugar, less sugar, sugar ain't so bad, it's the worst poison in the world. Coffee? Why thank you, m'dear. Z-z-z-zonk!
So, you're inviting me to a nice family gathering tonight. Great.
And we'll be watching slides and home videos? Ehm, okay, cool.
What time did you say you're expecting me? 10pm?
Right, let me explain what's wrong with this picture.
It's Friday. I've worked hard and slept little all week. Turning the lights down low (to watch the slides or whatever) is likely to put me to sleep under any circumstances, what do you think will happen tonight? Plus, we'll be seeing everybody at the big party tomorrow and again at the dinner thing Sunday. You still want me to show up tonight?
Music in my head: Dead man in my bed - Nick Cave
1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?
Nine. Oh my goodness! I blame university. Not quite as many as Robin just yet.
2. Which was your favorite and why?
The house I've got now. It's big, it's got a garden, I chose everything in it (kitchen, bathroom, flooring, etc.), only drawback is it's too far from any decent shops and too far from where I work. Actually you get to the shops in 15 minutes by car, I just work too far from home.
3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why?
Exciting! The only reason last time was a bit [cough] stressful is we didn't want to arrive to a slab of bare concrete, and we had little time to sort everything out.
4. What's more important, location or price?
Location, up to the price I'm willing (and able) to pay for it, that is.
5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)?
Spa bath, huge garden (with conservatory), big kitchen, my own library, lots of natural light, plenty of natural scenery (sea, woods, hills) in very near proximity, and half a private petting zoo. My own fruit trees!
Ever heard the story about the man who gets a rich soup from a greedy cook?
Maybe this story is more familiar:
Rabbit: Would you like milk or hunny with your bread?
Pooh: Both! (adding, so as not to sound greedy) but never mind the bread.
Hmmm, since porridge was completely out of the question, I got me a lovely cup of cappucino with hunny, without coffee. And I paid no more for it than the soup.
Drat. I lost the heel of one of my shoes. I knew I should have had them repaired, oh, months ago, or at the least weeks, but you know me: procrastination is my middle name. Plus, handing them in to be repaired would mean not having black work shoes for a couple of days, which is hardly an option I like to follow. Looks like I will have to, now, though. Drat.
Yesterday I wanted to leave during the break of choir practice, so that I could, if not catch up on lost sleep, at least get a good night sleep so as not to increase the deficit. I told some people, and they were surprised: you can't leave early this close to the concert!
Lo and behold, come breaktime the conductor informed us that after the break he would only work with the solists, and the choir could leave or choose to watch.
Music in my head: Shall I crucify your king? - Olivet to Calvery, I forget the composer. Yes, that's the piece we're performing with the choir.
Looking back, it's the things we didn't do we regret rather than the things we did do.
Well, personally, I have done a few things I regret doing, but then again, maybe I just regret not doing the opposite of those?
Can you spell sleep deprived?!?
Mile by mile, life's a trial. Yard by yard, it's not so hard. Inch by inch, it's a cinch.
Having finished H2G2 - boy did I not see that ending coming - I've started on The Hobbit. My copy, btw, is a lovely hardback with coloured and b&w illustrations, and oh yes I might learn to read (and write?) runes along the way. It's just a little on the large side for fitting into my standard migration bag, so I'm hawling my tote bag along these days as well. Not that I particularly mind the tote bag, reminds me of the happy hours I spent at Bloomingdales in NYC last autumn, just the weight. Oh, sissy, I know.
Anyhoot, reading it, I am captured by the magic with the first page. I am very much looking forward to this adventure! And just a tiny bit sorry to break the bank in getting the rest of Tolkien's work. Lovely lovely lovely.
Cold and wetness don't bring about illness as such, says a scientist who survived a concentration camp.
So it's my own personality/perspective/choice that I would rather have staid in bed with plenty of tea and books today. Oh, that doesn't necessarily mean I'm feeling ill. Just happens that currently I'm suffering from severe lack of sleep, and I can feel the cold in my bones, joints, knees.
... this mornings unprecedented solar eclips is no cause for alarm ...
I picked up Flash Gordon for a rediculously low price this weekend, considering the artistic/cult value, and the disc being dolby digital surround and anamorphic. Extras? I didn't check for those, don't care about them.
I also picked up Spirit, a cartoon from Dreamworks (the same people who brought us Shrek). Nice, although I wish I hadn't seen the special features about the artwork and the music. Besides the I'd rather just experience the magic, thank you very much, Brian Adams looks terrible these days!
Today being Tuesday and April 1st, it's getting silly.
1. The Bogey-Man or Henry Kissinger?
Who's Kissinger?
2. Whips 'n chains or soft ropes with furbound cuffs?
Soft ropes and furbound cuffs. Despite my high tolerance level for pain, I can't stand it, not even inflicting it on others, well, most of the time, any way.
3. Fish sticks or Amazon.com?
You mean .co.uk
4. Whitewall tires or color TV?
Huh? Colour TV, I guess.
5. Leather or lace?
Neither.
6. Abraham Lincoln or leftover turkey?
Depends on what you do with them. I s'pose both would be good to help me get to sleep, though.
7. Movable Type or Star Trek?
Both!
8. Happy Happy Joy Joy or Bounce Bounce Bounce like Tigger?
Bounce!
9. The Michelin Man or the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man?
Marshmallow Man from Ghost Busters or just MM?
10. Thought-Provoking Question of the Week: If you HAD to marry one of the talking M&M's in the TV commercials, would it be the red one or the yellow one? Why?
The red one - he still believes/d in Santa Claus!
Saving what? I feel like I have jet-lag, and it's completely dark outside when I leave for work, while last week it was perfectly light - even if it was freezingling cold. Now it's still freezing (the grass was white), and dark.
Music in my head: Human Again (from Beauty and the Beast - new edition). Brought on by: 2 cups of coffee - ahhh!