Posts (page 2)

I went on vacation in early December, came back sick and just dragged myself back and forth to work until I made it to the holidays. 

I did post my vacation pics in a collection here on Vox, but they came in all out of order.  Not sure what's up with that. I've been using Flickr just so I can get pics into Vox easily -- yeah, not so much.  But the whole set is viewable directly at Flickr here.  We took a transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Boston -- not really any time available in Barcelona, unfortunately, just barely got there completely worn out from a day and a half of traveling, crashed, and then got on the ship the next day.  It seemed like a neat place to visit.  I'd really like to go back there and visit properly (when the US dollar is stronger, ha). 

The cruise had one stop in Madeira where the weather was beautiful, there were Christmas decorations all through the town, and I had a great time walking and touring around and taking pictures. Then I got sick.  Oh well.  At least there was all the food I could ever want and I could still sleep in, do whatever I wanted, enjoy reading, etc.  which is what I would have done anyways.  But I had a cold, meh.

When I got back, I was still sick and had to miss my company holiday party which I had been looking forward to for weeks. now that made me majorly upset.  Yeah, well it was "semi-formal" so I spent two weekends finding a dress and shoes & etc. and looking forward to having a reason to wear something pretty and holiday-sparkly.  Then I couldn't go.  I'm feeling better now because time eases things, but at the moment I was totally bummed. I couldn't even look at the pictures that my friend took at the party for a few days because it made me start crying. I must have too many hormones in my brain or something.

So now my whole family is coming to visit for a post-holiday extravaganza.  All of them.  All. All. All. I am the oldest of six.  All.  They have rented a vacation house in Kissimmee.  Let the madness ensue. Hehehehe.

This week (Wednesday) my department at work had a team outing ... we all went out to play paintball together.  Ouch!  I have so many bruises where I got shot by the paintballs, I am now turning all sorts of colors for the holidays.

I told the guys that it's their fault if I look funny in my dress for the holiday party. Everyone has sore muscles from running around the field.  Ha ha. At least I'm not the only one. I think it's pretty funny to see these young guys complaining about being sore when I'm fifteen years older than some of them. 

So now I'm happily off on vacation for the next week and a few days.  Yay!  I'll be back in a little bit.

Today I looked out my window at work and realized for the first time that the tree outside my window is a holly tree. The berries must have turned red over the long holiday weekend.  I've been sitting there since July, but never noticed fruit till today!

Christmas is coming...

It's hard to tell, but there is a Christmas tree in this photo... it's actually nearly in the center, on the other side of the lake.

I came home last week and just managed to get one pic before my camera batteries gave up. I think the sun on the water next the to the tree is in a really interesting place.

For months, there has been a yellow construction boom in the lake outside my condo.  I guess it's some kind of regulation, to keep construction debris (the building next door) from spreading into the water.

As it slowly sank into the mud, the boom got easier for the lake turtles to climb onto and sun themselves.  Lately there's been two or three on some sections that they could get onto.

This morning I walked outside and -- it's gone! Just three turtles swimming around in the empty water. I imagined that they were disappointed....

This week I ended going to the doctor twice because of pain I was having... the verdict: kidney stones. 

So now I have a prescription for Vicodin (look out, Dr. House).  It's definitely preferable to being in pain, but I don't like how it makes me feel.  When I take it, I feel sleepy and fuzzy, completely spaced out.

On the good side, I now know why I was feeling bad. That always makes me feel more in control. :-)

Awake again... rather than toss and turn, I thought I would get up and listen to what my brain had to say.

Being the person that other people want you to be: this is something I have done a lot. Changed myself to fit their expectations, pruned myself to fit. Everyone does it, really. There are things you shouldn't say at work, movies you shouldn't watch with your parents, silly things that you only share with your love.

For me, it's something I have a particular issue with. I have a hard time letting people get to know me. Some people never really see me. It's partly their own inability to see, and partly my own willingness to play along.

But I am no longer young, I'm not thin, I am just me. When I hide my self in order to get along with others, I'm really telling myself that I am not good enough, that people won't like me as I am. I don't want to do that. I can't be strong when I divide myself into parts labeled "acceptable" and "unacceptable."

Instead I've been on a project to try to integrate myself, to remind myself that I will be stronger if I take back all of my parts, not just the ones that I think other people "like."  It's a little terrifying, letting dormant things back out into the world. There are cobwebs in some areas of my brain.

My creative side is slowly waking up. I hope it will forgive me for having chained it down for so long. Two weeks ago, when I last got my hair cut, I had a streak dyed purple. I love it so much. It's a visible sign of my commitment. It says to me -- I want to be different.

Sometimes I wake up early in the morning, when it's still dark. Nothing to do, I'm just alone with my thoughts. And my bird, who gives little inquisitive chirps. He wonders why I am rustling around in the darkness.

So do I. Why am I awake now, when during the day I sometimes want nothing more than to go home and go back to bed?

I look out the window. The streetlights are on and the town looks quiet and peaceful. No one running, shopping, hurrying anywhere. The tiny lake is quiet, rippled. I wonder if the fish there can sleep?

I really have other things I ought to be doing, but there's always time to procrastinate. And take quizzes.

I just watched this week's episode of NCIS and started singing along when the storyline featured Tom Lehrer's "The Elements."  (Yes, there is a song for the elements of the periodic table.  There's a song for everything!)

If you've never heard this song, Mike Stanfill has a great Flash animation here. That's what it's all about, yep. Chemistry plus Gilbert and Sullivan equals geek humor. I love it.