phyncke

WInter Update

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 14:09:53 GMT

Well now that Hanukkah is over, I thought I would do a real update. I know that is a flurry of posting but it is not really an update. I am doing pretty good here.

I have been recovering from a work related injury. I injured my hip by lifting too much at a major event I did in September. My first worker's comp claim ever in all my years of working. I have to say the University I work for handles things well. I did PT, got an ortho consult and things have gone pretty well. I think this is a sign of my age and I have to realign how I do things. I cannot do so much lifting anymore — I am in my upper 50's now and I do admit that the food trays I was lifting were pretty heavy. So my bad.

Other work things — my lectures — a bunch of them — five of them — went very well this Fall. I am starting to get pretty good about how to market them and I think it is paying off. I love doing the lectures and working with the faculty. Love this part of the job. It is actually fun and interesting. I am so glad I get to do this. Happy even. It is rare when you get to love what you do but I do. We had Ezra Klein this fall and that was a thrill — in a really big hall — major event. Very fun.

I am going to be moving offices to a space with a window. I am very excited about it. I get all new furniture too. I am doing the renovation because I do facilities but I am really happy about it. I have worked in a windowless office for a long time and prefer working at home because I have windows here. I am even going to bring some plants in.
I am going to the East Coast for Christmas to spend time with my family there — my brother, his wife, my niece and my mom. My mom has early stage dementia and they think Alzheimers. She does pretty well right now but we are preparing for what to do when it gets worse. I am going to keep her company as we just lost my Dad. I like spending time with my Mom so it will be fine. She gets repetitive but it is fine. I have done some online research and that is what happens — repeat, repeat, repeat. That is what you do. My brother is doing most of the work so I help out when I can.

I hope you are doing well there and a very happy holiday season to you. Happy New Year!

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Sun, 12 Mar 2023 17:03:04 GMT

Hi all - here again. Hanging out on hold with my cable company so thought I would write a post. I am doing ok. I have a lecture this week - on slavery and the modern economy with Kevin Bales from University of Nottingham. Should be really impactful. It is depressing to me that slavery is a thing in the modern world. People are enslaved to get the materials for our electric car batteries and cell phone batteries. So think about that. Slave labor on the supply chains for those. Makes me feel bad about that. I think there are very few clean supply chains when you think about it. I am glad we are doing this talk.

Things going on in the banking thing here. Two banks just failed here in the USA. Silicon Valley one and Silvergate. That is not good. I hope things stabilize. I have been meaning to move my banking to a better bank so I just did that. I was banking with Wells Fargo and really hate them - for what they did to customers so I moved to Bank of the West - a smaller bank. Very glad I did.

Anyways. Chugging along here and getting things done. Hoping you are doing well.

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Sun, 19 Dec 2021 00:01:56 GMT

I just made this icon I am using because I am rewatching Stranger Things on Netflix again. I just love that show. The ensemble cast and the storyline - it is just so good. I really hope they don't ruin it. It is such an amazing show. Anyways. Here is Hopper finding the bug in his house. LOL. All the characters in this show are amazing. Winona Ryder is especially good as Joyce Byers too. Just love her. And the kids. Just good on so many levels.

So I am finishing up work for the holidays next week. We are done at noon on Wednesday. I have been having knee issues - having pain there and went to an orthopedic surgeon (referred by my doctor) and he wants to do an MRI next week. I am getting that done on Wednesday afternoon. Trying to get this done before the holidays. The ortho (a very handsome man) said I likely don't need surgery so that was good. He will know more with the MRI. I cannot do much with this knee - it hurts to walk any distance at all. So it is impeding my life. Kind of sucks.

I am doing another pandemic Christmas this year. Not going anywhere - no East Coast trip or anything like that. Staying put and doing not too much. I feel like things are getting bad again with covid and it is better not to risk a plane trip right now. So better not to do that. My dad is in the rehab place recovering from a fall (broken bone) and it just seems better to stay here. So going to do that. I hope to go visit next summer 2022.

Work is hard to predict. I do all these lectures - not sure if those will actually happen or not - given the pandemic. I saw that Robert Reich just posted that he expects to be teaching remotely this spring - and he teaches at Berkeley - so that is an indicator of how things might go. I have to see what January looks like. So will see. If I have to pull the plug on these lectures - I will do that. Have to be safe. If things keep going this way - I don't think people will want to be in a room with 100's of other people. So there is that.

So that is all I have. Hope you are doing well there with your holiday preparations. I am looking forward to the turn of the year. Bring on 2022. Let's do that and let this all go. On to better things, I hope. Be well and comments are welcome.

PS - not sure I have time to do the fiction swap this time. I have to see. I hate sitting out but I have a lot going on with work.

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It has been a while

Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:23:21 GMT

Since I last posted. I checked and I last posted in June 2021. I know I was going to consistently post on there but that kind of went out the window. I kind of stopped all forms of journaling but I am starting again and will try to get back on here again. I like blogging so will attempt to restart things here.

I had a busy Fall. Some major events. Those went well but kept me busy. My boss is leaving the University which makes me very sad as I really get along with her and we work well together. She wants to stay home with her baby. I totally get that but I will miss her a lot. And now I need to figure out who will help me with my events. So am worried about that. I am going to have to figure that out and have the management figure that out. Anyhoo work woes. 

I have news on personal financial front — figured all my worries out here and get to reset all my finances. So that is the good news — it is a hard process to go through but very necessary. I am not going to put the personal details on here but am very glad about it. It was something I had dealt with for years and a clear solution became evident at last. So it is done and now I move on from it and leave that behind. I get to start over. I am going to learn from this experience for sure. I have learned a lot and think I won't make the same mistakes again. So in all these vague terms — it is good news. 

We are having hot weather this weekend — I know it is Fall for most of you but I live in California and we have California Summer in Sept and October. It is 80 degrees today and sunny. I think I am going swimming tomorrow to cool off. So that is where we are at here. California Summer. Luckily this year it is not get very hot. I have this air conditioner and I have not had to use it yet. My rule is — I use the AC when the temps get into the 90s — well so far — the temps have not gotten that high. Mostly low 80's and that is just not hot enough for AC as far as I am concerned. I got the AC for really hot days when it is roasting in my third floor apartment — and so far this year — it has just not been that hot. That is good for my utility bill as AC is expensive to run. 

Anyhoo — that is all I have right now. Thought I would put a post on here. I will read the friends list tonight. Hope all is well with you there. 

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Wed, 14 Apr 2021 15:36:09 GMT

Yikes - it has been a while since I posted here. Did not realize that. I have been here and working and all that so not much to report this month. I will do the run down.

On my car - I have gotten the funds together to fix the transmission and will be getting it fixed next week on the 22nd of April. So that is good. I am trying not to drive the car that much and just doing essential things. To the store and home really.

Last week, I took Friday off for a personal day and went to San Francisco with my friend, J***. We got lobster rolls at Luke's Lobster and went to Stella Bakery in North Beach. I got a cannoli there and it was so delicious. I really love cannoli's. Their are the chocolate chip kind and really fresh and so very good. We used to take Uber's around the city but this time we walked the whole way and that was really fun. We got lots of steps in and got to see what was happening there. I have to say I noticed that there were not many people in the city and that there are lots of closed businesses there. The pandemic has not been kind to SF. We ended up at the Ferry Building there on our way back to the ferry home and it was really quiet there and lots of the businesses in the Ferry Building were closed. It is very sad. I had a good time but it is sobering to see the effects of the pandemic on SF. I hope things come back or revitalize soon.

I am reading a really good book right now. I heard a short story by Shirley Jackson on NPR's Selected Shorts recently and that got me interested in her writing so I found her book The Haunting Of Hill House at the used book store and am reading that now. It is beautifully written and really absorbing. So happy to be reading it. I am also still reading David Sedaris - The Best of Me and those stories are very funny - I read those in doses and also still reading Down Girl - The Logic of Misogyny for book group - we do a chapter of that each week for book group. I always have multiple things on my book shelf. Lots of things going on for the literature.

Work is busy - I had an event recently - my awards ceremony for mentoring and it went really well on Zoom - we had 80 people there and that was great. The awardees felt well cared for so that makes me feel good. I have another event coming up for fellowships students and need to do stuff for that and student competitions today. So lots going on.

That is about all for me. Just wanted to put a post up here. I am really upset about the incidents that have happened with the Police recently in the USA. I cannot believe they happen when the trial for Derek Chauvin is happening. Like seriously? When is this going to stop?

Hope you are doing well where you are there. Peace.

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Mon, 29 Mar 2021 17:01:09 GMT

So the trial of Derek Chauvin starts today. It cannot be avoided. I had it on as I started work today and they showed the video of George Floyd's death again. It is really so hard to watch. The inhumanity of it all. It is all so very disturbing and I am glad this man is on trial for killing him. I hope he goes to jail. It really seems like he should.

I am working this morning. Starting slow and pacing myself. Getting things done.

I went to Santa Cruz yesterday and that was really nice. I went with my friend, J***. We drove down at around 10am and got there in time for lunch. We hit some traffic on route 17 going into SC so that slowed us down. We got our favorite pizza at Woodstock Pizza there and then hit the Santa Cruz Bookstore. I got a couple of hardcover books that I really could not afford but that looked really good. I will share those later as they seem very good. I noticed there are some closed businesses in the downtown area there. Casualties of the pandemic - which is to be expected. That is too bad. Then we got our coffees at Verve and headed to the bakery - The Buttery and then out to the beach - the beach we went to was full of dogs playing in the waves - very fun. So all in all it was a fun day. We hit some traffic on the way out too so that took a while on route 17 and then we got home at around 6:30 pm. Not too bad for a day trip. I did not take any pictures of the day - I was not in the mood to. It was beautiful - gorgeous day and 70 degrees there. Pretty much perfect.

It was nice to get away for the day. We decided we should take little road trips and think we might go to Petaluma next for a look around. That is across the bay and there is a good Mexican restaurant there. Lots of antique stores there too. So that could be fun. And we might go to Napa for another trip. Do some easy road trips around here. Lots of pretty places to see.

Anyhoo. That is about all I have. Back to work and hope all is well with you there. Peace.

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One Ring to Rule Them All!

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 00:45:56 GMT

So my parents have sent me the One Ring - I am not kidding. They found this on the discard table at Barnes and Noble - discontinued items and they got it for free. My Dad, who has seen all the movies, recognized its worth and so he grabbed it. The precious. Anyways. It is a pretty cool little item. I don't really do collectibles but I don't mind having this. It's cute. I like that it has the Mordor language inscribed on it and it comes in a cute box with a nice interior. The price on the outside of the box was $95.00 so it retailed for a bit of cashola. I would not buy this myself but as a gift that did not cost anything - sure. Kind of like how Frodo got the ring, right? You never know how the ring will come to you! It is a pretty hefty weight and looks like it is gold plated. Not too shabby.

Here are some pictures of it -

Other than that nothing much is happening here. I am working and trying to plan events for next year with no information from campus on what we can do. So that is interesting to try. No one knows anything. I am glad I only have two lectures in the Fall so that is easy to manage. Not too many to wrestle with.

I am glad Biden got the aid package done and signed. People need the help right now. The country is still recovering from the economic impacts of this pandemic. Other countries did a whole lot more than the $2000 direct stimulus that we are doing. I am glad they are keeping the unemployment going too. People need that for sure. Not sure what the Republicans are thinking. Evidently they think people don't need help - they all voted against it - literally all of them. They are all working on voter suppression in the states - I think that is their thing right now - keeping people from voting and making it a lot harder for people to vote. That's their game - don't help people and keep them from voting. I am not making this up. This is what is happening. The voter suppression is coming from the Republicans in the states not the Congressional Republicans but they are all part and part. Same machine.
/end rant

I got myself all worked up there. I go on Saturday for my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Very excited about that. Hoping I don't have any side effects from it - the reports are mixed. Some people do and some people don't. Hope I don't. I will let you know how I do.

Anyhoo - that's about it here. Hope you are well - over and out.

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Hi all

Sat, 06 Mar 2021 17:14:32 GMT

Happy weekend to all. Personally, I am glad it is Saturday and looking forward to a relaxing weekend here at home. I have some chores to get done and will try and do those and hang out. I have slacked off on posting so will try and do that more here. I am committed to journaling and will endeavor to do that.

I admit that I am not watching the news that much - I feel like our government is in more competent hands so I don't need to obsessively watch this Administration. Maybe that is wrong and maybe I should always watch things but I feel like I can relax on that. I do more weekly viewing than daily viewing and keep up that way. With Trump it was a daily nightmare and with Biden it does not feel like that. I am sure for the Trumpers it feels awful - judging from their frantic comments on the White House FB page - they are not happy. I am feeling better about things. Sure Biden is going to misstep but I think in general things are better.

I am concerned that they are not going to pass the $15.00 minimum wage in the current aid bill. I am not sure why they are having such a problem with that. The current Federal minimum wage is at $7.25 an hour which is not enough for anyone to live on anywhere in the country. $15.00 an hour is barely enough for anyone to live on. I don't think that is really enough but it is a better number than they have now. We need to do this and they are having trouble with it. Seems indecent. Raise the wage! Let's get this done. I think if they don't put this in the bill - they will have to do it some other way. So hopefully they will get it done somehow. I just cannot believe anyone has a problem with paying a fair wage. Unbelievable.

Work is going on. I am a little tired of working from home but think I will be doing that for a while. It gets lonely. I think I will be here through the summer for now. Ho hum. I am glad I could do this and keep my job during the pandemic. I feel lucky that way. So there is that.

Anyways - hope you are doing well where you are and staying healthy. I have the second dose of the vaccine on March 13. I am going to do some prep for that so I am ready for side effects. Not sure I will get them but will be ready if I do.

That is all I have. Stay healthy there and peace to you!

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Tue, 23 Feb 2021 03:07:40 GMT

It's only Monday and technically it is still winter here but today it was really sunny out and 70 degrees. Definitely not seasonal weather. Tomorrow it is going to be 74 degrees out. I think I will break out the shorts and t-shirts and flip flops. Why not?

Mishaps at work today. A faculty member missed my committee meeting and messed my project up. I run this award and he was part of the decision committee for the award and they could not get the work done (ie award the winners) without him. We waited for 45 minutes to see if he would show and then rescheduled the meeting - hoping that he would be able to make the new meeting. The no show emailed me later - he emailed the whole committee and apologized. He had forgotten the meeting and was very embarrassed. He is not teaching this semester so he is very loose with his calendar. Bummer for me - now we will have to rush everything. This is not how I like things to be but it is not my fault. I send all sorts of reminders about it. So it goes. Now I have a late afternoon meeting tomorrow. I try not to do late afternoon meetings. Oh well.

I am listening to a city covid meeting right now and they told us earlier that the UK variant has been detected here. This is very scary to me. I don't like those variants. They are more contagious and it is just not good. Not happy about it. So what that means is that I still have to be careful. Now is not the time to relax. Overall the numbers are coming down but these variants are out there. We have California variants too. Just got the vaccine - better stay safe - keep it together. I can do this. Not freaking out but just feel like it is good to be informed on this stuff.

So that is all. Trying to stay healthy and safe while my immunity builds here. Hope all is well with you.

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Ashes to ashes...

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:37:42 GMT

Wednesday - I have a lot of Zoom meetings this afternoon so I did my hair this morning. I finally figured out how to put a background image on my Zoom so I am not showing my apartment anymore. So that is better. I have two meetings this afternoon and one is a long one. Anyhoo. That is work.

The emergency vet texted me to let me know that Teddy's ashes are ready to be picked up. I better go do that. With my previous dead cat - I let them sit there for a year or so. Not going to do that this time. I will be prompt and get them right away. I never know what to do with the ashes. I have a few boxes of ashes around here. I have Boo and Radley and I think my dog, Jake here. Lots of dead animals. What to do with those? Maybe take them somewhere and spread their ashes. That seems like a project. I will get to that some day. Meanwhile the ashes accumulate.

I have the impeachment on here with the sound off. I think I will watch the recap tonight. I listen to it occasionally. They have boat loads of evidence against Trump - social media, speeches and all that. I mean literally - he did it. I am curious to see what their defense is for that. That will be something to watch - the defense - I wonder how creative they will get on that. I am sure it will be a nice song and dance. A two-step or a rhumba?

Today is my Mom's birthday so I had a call with her. I forget how old she is - she is in her 80's now and doing pretty good. Happy Birthday, Mom! I sent her a nice plant - she is really good with plants so hope she will like that.

Anyhoo - that is all I have. Stay well there.

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Hello

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 17:19:10 GMT

So I was not feeling the Snowflake Challenge from yesterday so I opted not to do that one. That is ok - we don't have to do all of them. Best not to force these things.

I got good news at work - they are postponing the furlough program. It was supposed to start Feb 1 2021 and now they are going to start it next fiscal year which is July 1, 2021. It is a reprieve of sorts. That means that things are not so dire and looking better. So I will take that. I had already taken a furlough day this week but I converted that to a vacation day and that was that. I think a bunch of people had already started taking chunks of furlough time so I don't know what will happen with that. They will have to figure something out. But I am glad - my pay will not be reduced just yet. That is the good news.

I am really missing Teddy but I am trying to make sure my other kitty, Bear is ok. He seems to be. He is eating ok and I am playing with him a lot to make up for Teddy not being here. He needs stimulation and interaction. So I have to be his buddy now that his feline buddy is not here. So I am working on that and ensuring he gets good running around time here. Don't want a depressed cat here. So being there for Bear is very important.

That is about all I have - it has been raining here so I have not been able to go walking that much. We lost power one night this week so that happened. It was only for about 4 hours. Not too bad. It is pretty cold for the Bay Area so definitely trying to keep warm here.

That is about it for me. I don't know what to do with myself now that I have finished my MSV story. I posted that this week and it is done. No more stressing about it. I am happy with how it came out so I hope my person likes it. I can stress about that and worry about how it will be received. So I will do that.

Happy Thursday, all. Almost the weekend. Looks like we are getting good weather for a few days so that is looking up. Stay healthy there and stay safe.

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I should stop watching the news...

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 03:46:11 GMT

I am really trying not to get all worked up over the evening news. The Trumpists and their BS this week have me on my last nerve. I am sure it will all be fine but it is ridiculous. Trump lost and they are all butt hurt and cannot accept the election. Funny how we had to accept it when he won in 2016 - they told us to get over it. Well it is time for them to get over it. This is how elections work - there is a winner and a loser. Trying to overturn an election threatens our democracy and the Republicans are going too far with this. All of the people trying to do this should lose their seats in Congress - I really think so. The news is calling them the Jim Crow Caucus because they are basically trying to invalidate the black vote here. Sounds about right to me. They are also expecting trouble in Washington, DC that day too - Trump supporters doing crazy shit there too. This is madness. We had free elections and there were no problems with them. They are literally making this stuff up. Anyways. See? I am all worked up.

I had a pretty good day for my last day of vacation - got my food shopping done - did a lot of reading and relaxed around here. It rained most of the day so I did not get my walk in. I will go tomorrow.

Back to work tomorrow - I will deal with that in the morning. I don't think I have any meetings tomorrow so that is good. Just work to do. Blah.

That is all I have. I wish it was Inauguration Day - this transition is for the birds - it is taking far too long. Speed this up!

Hope all is well with you where you are. <3

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Holiday adjustments here...

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 19:17:07 GMT

So in the post-Hanukkah thing - which is really Christmas and New Year's - my family is adjusting to the pandemic scene. We are trying to coordinate a Zoom get together for all of us for Christmas Day so that we can all see each other and hang out for a little bit. This presents a challenge getting my elderly parents with the program but I put my brother in charge of that. He has to set them up with Zoom and a webcam. We will see how this goes. Getting my Mom to even agree to it was the first part - she is very anti-technology so that was something. She is actually excited about the Zoom thing so hopefully we can make this happen.

I finished up work for the year yesterday and am so glad. I know I work from home but I really need a break from things and it is nice not to have to track emails and be on the computer all day. Less stress. Today, on my first day of vacay, I woke up at 5:30 am and could not get back to sleep. Not sure what that was. So I got up and made coffee and put the Yule Log on my TV and just hung out. I have things to do today so I just started the day. I hope I will be able to sleep in some during my break. I guess I am an early riser anyway but it would be nice to sleep in til 7:00 or 8:00.

So I signed up for Slashy Valentine and got my assignment. I don't anticipate any problems but I am waiting for inspiration to hit me on it. Ye newe idea. I would like a nice short story burst to get this done. I even opened MS Word and put a working title in the doc but nothing came to me. So technically I have started. LOL. Wish me luck. I will keep you updated in the usually Slashy manner. Hopefully not too much pain and suffering this time.

I want to wish everyone on my friends list Happy Holidays - I hope you are celebrating safely during this time and keeping healthy. Much love to you!

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So I have been through it ...

Sat, 29 Aug 2020 21:58:43 GMT

So a lot has happened since my last update. I feel a few bulleted points are in order.

-my cat, Bear almost died. He got a urinary block - well he blocked twice and had to have two surgeries. It was very stressful and extremely expensive. He is all fine now and back to his feisty self but it was such a stressful thing to go through. When you love them and almost lose them it is so awful. The vet bills had to go on a medical credit card and that balance is very high. I am having to fundraise for help with that. I set up a gofundme for the first time in my life - I never thought I would have to do that - but I did - so this does not ruin me. I am posting the link here but I understand that times are hard all around. Anything helps with this so don't feel like you need to give a lot. And really - Bear is doing great now, the little scamp - he gets his stitches out on Tuesday and then he won't have to wear the cone anymore.

Here is the link to my gofundme -
https://www.gofundme.com/f/fundraiser-for-bear039s-emergency-vet-costs

-work is getting busy and I am really tired of working from home. While I am glad I can - I miss getting dressed for work and going to the office. I miss my office and the people I work with. Zoom is not the same as seeing people at work. The University is still remote for the foreseeable future so that is what is happening there and I am not doing any events this year. My events start in the Fall of 2021 if we are allowed to. I am planning for then and will see how it goes. I am trying to do staff morale events on zoom and that is limited. People don't join and it is not the same as in person. I can tell people are really zoom-fatigued. So there is that. Anyway - at least I am still working and I am really grateful for that - so that is something.

I only have those two bullets for now - I hope all is well with you where you are - it's got to be better than in the US. I watched both conventions for the Presidential race. I watched Donald Trump do his illegal campaigning from the White House. That is the people's house and he is acting like that is his house. I posted on Facebook that we need to kick him out and we do - he thinks he owns it. I still cannot believe he is the President and I am determined to get rid of him. They lied their way through their convention like a bunch of coke fiends. Unbelievable. I did enjoy the Democratic Convention - it was actually worth watching. The Dems got much better ratings and more people watched the Democrats so that is good. We are in the home stretch for the election - I am hoping for a full sweep - House, Senate and President for the Democrats and then Trump goes to jail since he has done so much crap.

Anyway - end rant. How do I really feel? Yar.
Comments are welcome!

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Hello...

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 01:10:25 GMT

Hello to all who are still reading LJ. I am trying to figure out of the LOTR challenge is happening for the end of the summer — the Sultry in September thing. It is getting on in the summer so it is too late for Ardor in August. Does anyone know what is happening with that? I am really in the mood to write something and would love a good prompt to do. So let me know if you know anything. I have been looking forward to this.

In other news — I had a nice time in Vegas. I go there to relax and do the resort thing and eat good food. So that is pretty much what I did there. I don't gamble or anything crazy like that. I don't really even drink much. I had my one margarita at the Mirage Hotel Bar and really enjoyed that. I literally have one drink a year. LOL. We had BBQ and Thai Food and then cooked some food in the room. Due to problems with our suite, I was able to negotiate a serious discount with the hotel and we saved some money there. So that was all good. I love saving money. Minor inconveniences at hotels can turn into major savings on your bill. Keep track of that stuff and ask for money off at check out. It will pay off.

Anyhoo. Work is going well and that is just a thing. I am a little bored with it but we have a new VP and I really like her a lot. She does good things for the world and has a nice way about her. I am looking forward to seeing the changes that she will make for our division. She has good mojo.

I am watching this debate and find myself getting really annoyed at the state of American politics. I can't help but feel that the Democrats could really blow it in the next election. Not sure where this feeling is coming from but it is just a feeling. I don't like Biden...I am tired of the Bernie bro's texting me and I have no idea how they got my number...I do like Warren and feel like she has solid plans and is smart enough to do the job. I don't know about the rest of them.

Anyhoo. That is about all I have right now and this got much longer than I thought it would.

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Fri, 07 Jun 2019 14:44:30 GMT

I am doing a little post today. I woke up really early - 4:30 am to watch the French Open tennis match between Nadal and Federer today. Just for a thing. I have been into tennis lately so it was fun to get up and watch it. So I am up and thought I would write a little post here and send it out to the Universe. Hope you all are doing great.

I am finding few challenges at work. My office is a mess so I am going to clean it up and my electronic files are a mess so I will clean those up too but I am bored and not challenged very much. I would like to find a new job with new things to do so I am going to concentrate on that for a bit and see what I can rustle up. The problem I am finding is that my salary is too high for the positions I am seeing. They want entry level people and I have too much experience. So there is that. I just have to hunt around. I will do some trainings and get that going too. Get more qualified and see what I can do about that.

I am dealing with the death of a very good friend. I miss her every day. How do you deal with that kind of loss? I guess you just go on and let the feelings come. I have not had that big cry yet. I am sort of bottling up my feelings and think the cry will happen later. I really really miss her though. We texted and instant messaged on a daily basis. Silly things - nonsense really but it meant something to us. I will say it again - I miss her. It feels good to write these words. Sometimes people don't want to hear about grief - they are afraid of it. I do have a few friends who understand what I am going through - so I can talk to them. So that is ok. I think I will always miss her and that is ok.

Summer travel coming up - just Vegas this summer - with the gals. I have a childhood friend coming in town for a week so we will do things around here - a staycation for me. So that will be fun. Anyhoo. This got longer than I planned.

I am good, not great but I know things will get better. Keepin it real. Thanks for reading and drop me a comment. I love comments. <3

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Well - I skipped all the flailings

Sat, 18 Aug 2018 23:54:00 GMT

I can't believe it y'all. I finished my Sultry in September story today. I forgot to flail here in my journal for your benefit. How could I skip the most important part of the whole process? The pain and suffering? The flagellation, the recriminations, the angst? I mean rly?!

I am really sorry. I did have a bit of trouble figuring it out but the story was not too bad this time once I got down to writing. It coasted in there at a little over 3k words and just finished itself up today. I hope it does not suck but I kind of like it! I am usually wondering over here if the story sucks and I like it. What is going on?!

Maybe it really does suck and I am fooling myself. I am totally delusional. I don't know. Something has to be wrong.

Anyhoo. You will just have to read it in September. That is all I am telling you about this one for now. Zipping it. Anyone else out there writing for the swap? Comment here if you are.

----------other news

I have orientation next week at work - that will be busy. I just had my review at work - that went as expected so I will get a raise this year. I am bored at work and coasting - that is not good - I need to dial it up to 11 and get it in gear. I literally am bored. I do have a few new projects but they are not that exciting. My co-workers are fun but some of them are retiring so that makes me sad. My really good friend is retiring next summer and I am going to miss her a lot. So that makes me feel like I should move on to another position. So better get it in gear. I have to motivate. That is about it there.

Anyhoo - I am maintaining my weight loss pretty well - working out - eating right - blah blah. I feel like I have made the permanent shift to the healthier lifestyle. I still do the Weight Watchers thing - it gives me the parameters to follow for healthy living. I also like the community there. So that is awesome.

Anyway. That is what is going on. Hope all is well with you there. Comments are love!

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Here I am...

Sat, 09 Jun 2018 15:38:07 GMT

Hey all - here I am - hanging in. I just got done with a nice staycation here with khylea and we did a bunch of fun things around here locally and cost effectively here in the Bay Area. We did the following -

-hiked in Redwood Park - Oakland
-went to the Oakland Zoo
-went to the Exploratorium
-went to the Oakland Museum
-took the ferry to the city and went to the ferry building

I took her to some of my favorite restaurants and we went to some new ones too. Here is where we ate -
True Burger (Broadway, Oakland)
Himalayan Flavors (University Avenue, Berkeley)
Mountain Mikes Pizza (19th Street Oakland)
La Mediterranean (College Avenue, Oakland)

We cooked a bit too and made my Miso Shrimp recipe and she made tilapia fish.
It was really good to hang out with her and spend some time. I really enjoyed that.

I have some trips coming up - I am going to NH at the end of the month to see my family and friends back there and then I am going to Vegas in July with my girlfriends for a pool vacation. And that is about it for summertime fun.

I applied for a job and got the interview but did not get the job. I need to do better in the interviews and seal the deal. I am not sure I really convey my skills well enough or something. Anyways. That is too bad. I am going to a professional development conference next week where they work on these things. Hopefully I will get something out of that.

So that is all I have right now. I will post some pics of the vacation but I have to transfer them from my phone and have not done that yet.

I hope all is well with you and yours there. I am doing well in general. Still maintaining my weight loss. I go to meetings and track and all that. I am determined.

So comments are great and have a great week. I will try and post weekly if I can.

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New Spring layout...

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 19:49:25 GMT

Made a new banner and icon for my Spring layout. I have been really into these mandala graphics I found on pinterest so I made this one. I love the colors and find them soothing and refreshing. Loads of fun. So click in and check it out if you want.

Things are good with me today. I am having a good day so far. I motivated and took a walk up to the hills in Berkeley - it is about a 40 - 60 minute walk and then I rewarded myself with pancakes and turkey bacon. Yum. Had some real maple syrup with my pancakes. Love that. Love me some real maple syrup. I am trying to further motivate to clean my apartment here but that is not going so well. This post is my procrastination 101 on that. Clean? No, think I will write a blog post. LOL.

Work went well this Spring. My events were successful but I am not all that excited about my job. I do the same events every year and sort of dial it in. I need to revamp my resume and cover letter and get on the job market and see if there is anything out there that would be more fun and interesting. I could coast but that is no fun and I would love more money. Anyhoo. I will work on that. I have a friend at work who can do some graphical redesign on my resume. So will have that done and see how I do. Plan 1.

I have some travel coming up - well vacation plans. <lj user=khylea> is coming in for a Bay Area vacation the end of May. We will do fun stuff around here. There is a lot to do here so that will be fun. Then the end of June - I am going to New Hampshire to visit my family - parents, niece and sis-in-law. Then in July I do the Vegas thing - with the gals. So that will all be fun. Gotta have some fun. I ran through all my pts on SW so my free travel is all done now. Oh well - it was good while it lasted.

I am now a Lifetime member of Weight Watchers. I no longer have to pay but I still go to meetings. I am still tracking my food on the app and still really doing the program for now. I am going to keep with it for now. I don't feel ready to relax just yet. I want to see how this maintenance is and make sure I don't slip. I really worked too hard to get this weight off to let it come back on because I did not watch it. I have the feeling I might always have to watch it. It is a slippery slope. From what I see on the FB WW communities - it is really easy to gain the weight back. Harder to lose and easy to gain it back so I am really not wanting to go there again. I like how I am now and want to stay this way for good. So that is that - vigilance.

Oh hey - I am listening to James Comey's book - A Higher Loyalty - it is about a whole lot more than Donald Trump. Comey has had a really interesting career and his perspective is very interesting. I recommend this just for that. I have not even gotten to the Trump stuff and found this totally worth it for info on the case work he did alone. Of course Trump has to call Comey a "slime ball". Well - James Comey is not a slime ball - he is really intelligent, diligent and interesting - just about the antithesis of DJT. I still don't agree with Comey's moves on Hillary Clinton but hope to understand more about why he did that.

Anyway - that is what I am up to. Today it is a beautiful Spring day in the Bay Area - sunny and warm and the flowers are out. I potted up some zinnia's last weekend and hope those bloom nicely through the summer. Hope all is well with you in your part of the world.
Cheers.

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Sat, 13 Jan 2018 15:01:37 GMT

So hey - I was going to post more in the new year. I have been meaning to post but not gotten around to it so here I am.

2018 is going great for Donald Trump so far, eh? *sarcasm* He is using his great words to great effect, right? He says the best things. I mean really He insults all of Africa and Haiti in one really horrible sentence and we are supposed to be ok with that? Let me just say here that he does not represent me or my views. I did not vote for him. I do not agree with him and his inherent racism. And I think it is worth noting that he did not win the popular vote. The majority of Americans voted against this troll. We do not like him either. We wanted Hilary Clinton. So BOOM. There it is. We are stuck with this fool until he can be impeached. The Dems need to win the midterms and get this creep out of office. That has got to be the plan. There are a lot of House seats up and enough Senate seats to do the job. So my hope is that the Dems will do this and if Trump keeps this up- he will be helping the Dems win the midterms. So keep it up Donny-boy. Keep it up. /end political rant.

I have great news on the job front here - I saw this job on the Uni website and it was perfect for me - a great job, director level, excellent pay but it was closed to applications since December. So I debated applying for it and thought - what the hell. They can ignore my app if they don't want to see it. So I zapped my resume and cover letter in there to see what would happen. And guess what - they wrote me back and I know the person hiring. She said that she is glad that I applied and wants to interview me next Friday! Psych! So I guess closed does not really mean closed. I will remember this for future things. So I am super excited. The job is for a Director of Special Events at a college and I feel like this could be the one. THE ONE! It is all very copacetic here. I helped them with a hiring committee a few years ago and remembered thinking that they would be great to work with so here is my chance. Awesome!

(please don't mention this on FB. I count on your discretion)

On the WW front - I am so close to goal that I can taste it. I am .8 away. So very close. I am hoping to hit that this week. Woot! Once I hit goal - I have to maintain for 6 weeks and then I am lifetime - I get to go for free forever. And I intend to maintain my weightloss forever. I did not do all this work to gain it back. I have been reading about what it takes to maintain weight loss and you have to keep on top of it. I think this will be a constant thing for me and I will always have to watch it. I don't mind that as I enjoy tracking food and all that. My plan is to go a bit below goal so I have a few buffer pounds between me and goal. So that should work.

So all good news. Sorry about the political rant - it was in my mind and came out of my fingertips. Oh and Slashy Valentine - not started. Oops.

Hope all is well with you in your part of the world. I love comments!

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So hey...

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 04:11:53 GMT

I am here and around. I have been meaning to post and failing at that so here is a year end post. I am glad this year is ending and I don't know what the new year will bring. The political scene is dampening my mood for 2018. I am trying to be hopeful but I really hate our current administration and what they are doing. They just passed this horrible tax plan they totally benefits the wealthy and corporate interests on the backs of the middle class and the poor. It is decidedly not fair. Sure our taxes may go down in the short term but over the long term they will go up and significantly. They are really trying to pull one over on the American people and hoping that the short term dip in taxes on payroll will help them on the midterm elections next year. I really hope people are not fooled. The Democrats are doing well right now and heading for an upswing. I am a Democrat and I hope they take back Congress and stick it to them. I vehemently oppose this administration and all that it stands for. They lie and cheat and steal. This is kleptocracy at its worst.

Lord, I did not mean to post all that. But that is how I feel.

So I did not get that job I applied for. I got terribly sick for the interview and had to video conference for that and I think it totally hurt my chance for that. I was psyched to get to the third round and be in the running so will take the positive from that. I want to work on my resume and cover letter and keep looking. I am bored where I am and kind of just dial it in. So I need more of a challenge. I will keep looking for that. I could also use more monay. So all of that. I can stay where I am too - I mean, I have a job but something better would be good.

So I am going to get a newer car. Not sure if you know but I have a really old car - a 1993 Ford. My friends have a 2006 Subaru and want to sell it and it is in great shape so I am going to buy that from them for a very fair price. I am also going to turn my current car into the CA Air Quality people and get some money for it which will pay for most of the newer car. So exciting news on that front. I have never bought a brand new car. I think cars depreciate too much - I mean like the minute you drive it off the lot - why lose all that value and pay that much? I have had good luck with used cars and so there you go. The new car is a small wagon and a 5 speed so I will be back driving a manual. No problemo on that.

So - I have to start the paragraph with so - I am spending the holidays with friends in the area. I am not traveling this season. I looked into airline tickets back east and it was ridiculously expensive. I have some projects to work on in my house - clutter to go through so that will keep me busy. I want to work out and do some hiking too.

So I am 4 pounds away from goal on the Weight Watchers thing. I am super excited about that! Yay! It is going slowly and holidays are hard with all the events to go to and all that. I am thinking I will hit goal in January some time. I will post here when I do! Yeah.

So I hope you are all having a great holiday season and enjoying your time with family and friends. Take good care and comments are love. My one New Year's resolution is to post regularly on LJ. I really like the blog thing here. So I will try to post a bit more here.

Happy Holidays!

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Mon, 23 Oct 2017 04:52:12 GMT

It is Fall and of course still California Summer here so it will be 85 degrees here in Berkeley. I really hate the hot weather in October. Give me cold crisp Autumn days and leaves under my feet. It is this time of year that I really miss New England. Oh boo hoo hoo.

I am good in general. Work is low stress. I saw a job on the web that I am both interested in and qualified for so I think I might apply for that. I have strange overtures from my landlord here - he has asked me if I want to do a buy out of my rent control tenancy and I am seeing what to do about that and researching that. His number is way lower than my number, of course so I doubt that this will work out. But it is a little stressful and ominous on that front. I spend a lot of time looking at Bay Area housing which I cannot afford and trying to figure out if I can get him to a number that would be worth it. I am only posting about this here on LJ so any Facebook peeps should not mention this there. This is totally hush hush. The rental board says I don't have to do anything and I can refuse his offer.

So I am spending a lot of time right now thinking about scenarios that might never happen and looking at the unbelievably expensive housing in the Bay Area. If I could get enough money to pay for a house of my own - that would make it worth it.

Anyways. That is my biggest worry right now. So that is something. Could be a big deal or it could be a big nothing. I have lived in my apartment for 24 years - almost half my life. I love my apartment. So there is that too. Also - my rent is well below market rate. That is worth preserving.

Anyhoo. Just thinking onto the journal. This is not keeping me up at night or anything but if I could improve my situation - that would be good.

Hope all is well with you there.

I have started making graphics again at the following LJ comms -
thyncke_phyncke
enchanted sea
enchanted realms

Just for fun. Hope to see you there!

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Mon, 23 Oct 2017 04:50:38 GMT

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 01:49:00 GMT

Hey there. I am waiting for the graphics on my LJ to disappear - you know - with this PB thing - and that has not happened. I have not moved my images yet. So I wonder when that will happen. I should not jinx it. I will move things when I have to - not before. I have accounts set up other places but I am really lazy and don't feel like doing this yet. It makes me want to abandon this whole graphics thing and just not do it anymore. Really - why bother? I love graphics but I don't feel like reloading all my images. It took me years to load all those to PB. Can I rant for a moment here? They really suck. /end rant.

So onto more exciting news. I have lost 101 pounds! 71 on Weight Watchers and 30 on my own. Go me! It really has worked for me and I feel like I have totally made the lifestyle shift in my mind. I like eating this way. I plan my week and I just do it. Don't get me wrong. I still love food but I think about it differently. This week for example - I totally enjoyed a piece of strawberry pie - but I did not overeat and I counted it. That is all it takes. I feel much better being lighter and have way more energy. I think I get more done now too. So that is all good. I cannot recommend Weight Watchers enough. It costs a bit but they have the plan down. And you don't have to buy their stuff either. I do buy some things but I mainly eat my own food. They do have some snacks I like.

Anyway. Doing well on that.

I am really bored at work. I think I need to make a change. I have my resume updated and ready to go and I am looking. Don't mention this on FB. I want to stay at the Uni but get a different job. I need more to do. Or maybe I find things too easy and have just mastered what I do. I think I will take some classes too and grow that way. Best to keep busy and gain some skills.

So there is that. I am atrophying at work. Never a good thing.

So that is all I have. I cannot wait for the AiA reveal. That is coming up soon. I hope my person likes my story! I never know how that will go. I look forward to reading the stories. That is always fun.

I hope all is well with you there. Have a great week!

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Mon, 29 May 2017 18:33:11 GMT

Hey hey - I am here. I have finished my events for the year and am getting ready for a much needed vacation! I am going to New Hampshire for early June and will spend time with my family old and new. The cool thing about this vacation is that I will meet my long lost half sister who I have not met before and that is making me nervous as well as excited. We have been talking on social media and on the phone so I think it will go well. She seems very nice and like a cool person. So this will be interesting to say the least. I am hoping that my Dad will go along for the meet up and that he will finally meet the daughter he has never met before. So that would be cool. I spent most of my life thinking I did not have a sister so this is very fun. I have a sister! An older sister! Wowie!

Work went very well this Spring. I planned two national conferences and they were really good. I got great feedback on my event planning skills and everyone was pleased with how it went. It was stressful while it was going on but now that it is done - I feel really good about all of it. Feather in the cap so to speak. Now I can work on summer projects and documenting everything. So that is all good.

My other vacation this summer will be my annual trip to Vegas with the girls. Looking forward to that.

So that is all I have - just work and vacation and oh! I have lost 61 pounds on Weight Watchers! I am totally rocking that. I feel great and I really love the program - it totally works for me. It gives me a method to the weight loss madness. I have 23 pounds left to go so I am going to do this. I am totally jazzed about it. Here is a pic of what I look like now.

Hope all is well with you there and you are ready for summer! I totally am! :)

by girlboheme on LJ

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