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!

It is the weekend and I am having a relaxing time of it. My plans last night cancelled and so I did not go to the movies last night. I was supposed to go see Malificent. Oh well. I will see that soon. I hope to go before it is out of the theatre. I will likely get to that this week.

I have spent the last two weeks binge watching Orange is the New Black. Really good show. It is about a middle-upper class woman who spends 15 months in a minimum security prison. Loosely based on her memoir of the same name, the show is a compelling portrayal of prison life. Piper Kerman - who wrote the book - made the point that the United States has the largest prison population in the world so inmates are a significant percentage of our population. The Netflix series is much more dramatic than the book and there are major differences between the book and the series but both are very good. I am now reading the memoir and find it also very interesting.

I was somewhat bereft when I finished Orange is the New Black - that kind of sad feeling you get when you finish a really good book. But now I am on to watching House of Cards - also on Netflix. Who knew Netflix did such good programming? Impressive.

So on to reality - work is a little boring right now which is ok with me. It is summer at the Uni and it is quiet. We have a new Assistant Dean starting in August so that will be an adjustment. I am going to take a vacation sometime so have to work on that. But I am doing background and catch up work. I have to have a review this summer and think that my current supervisor does not know anything about what I do. So how well can that go. Not great. I will stay positive. I think the best thing to do is for me to write my review and let him have input. That will work.

I am going to start exercising. Walking is what I want to do. The weather is so nice and I have a good walk route that I can do. I will listen to audible books while I go walking. So that is what I will do. I need to get going on it. Time is wasting.

I am going to LA for July 4 and will see aglarien. Very excited about that. Woot.

That is about all I have here. Hope all is well with you and that you are having a good summer (or winter depending on where you are).

Cheers.



by vapor at tincturing on livejournal

I had a really discouraging day. Not fun in the work thing. I got flamed by a donor (rich rich person with strong sense of entitlement) at the end and this after a long week of struggling with a new email system and sending quotas and tech support nightmares. I have about hit my limit. If I did not have to go in tomorrow, I would not. I would totally take tomorrow off but I have projects to supervise. Honestly - this person's reaction was disproportionate to the mistake I made. I ran it by a friend of mine and he let me know that it was. It does not feel better though. I am really hard on myself. Anyhoo. That is where I am at. Feeling shitty about this.

My job applications have gone no where. I think I need to revamp my cover letter and resume to make them more jazzy. I will work on that tomorrow and pep up my application packet. I think my recent apps are a zilch there.

Anyhoo. Down but not out. I think I am going to have a conversation with my supervisor and go from there. Clear the air.

Ugh. UGH! I feel better having written this all out.

BTW - I am still very tired but in general feeling better. I think I need a good long rest this weekend and I have a spa day planned at the salon. I am getting my hair colored and nails done. Woot. A little self care will do wonders.

Hope all is well with you and thanks for reading my little post. Ended up longer than planned.

I just got checked out by the doctor. I don't have strep, I don't have bronchitis. I just have a virus. My doctor says a good virus can last 7-10 days and be quite something. I just have to rest and drink fluids. Since it is not bacterial - no antibiotics. So that is it. Just a little virus.

Still glued to the news on this Cleveland thing. Amanda Berry, Gina de Jesus and Michelle Knight. More unbelievable. The news does report a whole lot of nothing about it but it still makes for fascinating news. I cannot stop watching CNN. Unreal. Two of the girls are in reasonable health - one of the girls, Michelle Knight is not doing so well and is still in the hospital.

Hope you all are having a good week. I am kind of meh here. I am mostly tired and tired of being sick. I will go back to work tomorrow as the doc assures me I am no longer contagious.

Cheers to you and hope you are well.


rockgirl182

So today - yes, this is a rant. A coworker walks into my work space to tell me something and then says they have a really sore throat and don't feel well. They better go home etc. Honestly, stay away from me with your illness and disease. Why do people come into the office when they are sick? Unless she got that sore throat at work, she had no business even coming in to contaminate all of us with her germs. She was not looking good the day before so I think she knew but hard to say.

This is a major pet peeve of mine. Every flu poster I have seen says "Stay home when you are sick" clearly. You don't need to be a hero, we don't want your disease here. Stay away. She could have informed everyone she was sick with an email from home (as she has done in the past).

Don't worry, I was nice to her - gave her one of my Ricola cough drops (I am addicted to those) and sent her on her way (quickly).

I have managed to be reasonably healthy - without a flu shot this year by washing my hands, getting lots of sleep and staying away from sick people. I had one little bug but nothing major.


by yueshi

I just saw this on the news. Aspirin has more benefits and can prevent cancer when taken in a daily dose. I thought I would post this to the flist. Aspirin also has other benefits too but here is the link to the story. There are three studies being released today on this and it is worth noting:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/243171.php

Here is an older article on aspirin therapy which points at the benefit for heart/stroke:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/daily-aspirin-therapy/HB00073

Interesting. Low dose aspirin they say.

Disclaimer:
I am just sharing information and not endorsing this. Always consult with your physician before taking any over the counter medications with any frequency or trying any therapeutic remedies. Do your own independent research. I assume no liability for this information.

So I had the day off (and have Monday off too for a mini-vacay) and I went to the PT place to pick up my orthotics today. Hence the title of my post - nothing will make you feel older than being faced with the limitations of your body full in the face. Feeling older. I went and did some shopping for sensible shoes that work with my orthotics. Those wide shoes that are good for your feet and walking. Not nice shoes that make your pedicured toes look nice -- sensible shoes! Gah. I got a set of keen's that had a slight hipster look to them but returned them later as they slipped off my feet and they were not right. I did go to the athletic shoe place and got fitted for a good pair of walking shoes and those actually will work.

Old, I am old. (moany, groan, creaky, whine)

I did have a nice lunch with my work pal S*** who called and did my food shopping.

I have a bit of career news too...I did not get that job I interviewed for but in letting me know that, they let me know that they had another position that they would like me to apply for and that they would contact me with the job number. I thought that unlikely but said well, thems the breaks. Well, they did contact me with the job number and the position is a HIGHER LEVEL one than the other one. Seems they think I am more qualified than I thought. It pays more moolah and is a way better job. Things are looking up. I doubt that my current department will be able to meet or counter this offer though I will give them the chance to.

Neat, really neat. Super excited. Happy weekend to all and heading out to see the movie Horrible Bosses tonight. I need to laugh.

Comment with your latest. I promise to reply to comments tomorrow.

Cheers.

I try to eat breakfast each day and it is an energy boost. Here is some info from the Active for Life people about it...


Breakfast is for Champions!

When I was a kid, my ultimate goal in life was to make it on the cover of a Wheaties box. So, following their marketing mantra - Wheaties... the Breakfast of Champions - I ate it every morning, believing that if I did, I'd be ready when the "people who make people famous" would come knocking on my door.

"Hey, are you the girl who eats Wheaties for breakfast??" "Why YES... yes, I am." "GREAT! We need you for the next batch of Wheaties boxes! Can you come with us now?" "Why YES... yes, I can."

Little did I know then that breakfast really IS for champions! Or, at least for people who want to feel like champions throughout the day. You may have heard or read somewhere that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well, that is no myth. It's absolutely true... and here's why:

( Breakfast is for champions! )

Here is the latest newsletter from this fitness challenge we are doing at work. I am finding these really useful and helpful. This one is about sitting and the sedentary lifestyle. Personally, one way I hit on this one is I have a stretch break program installed on my computer and I do stretches every 45 mins at my desk and get up and walk around at that time. It is important to move a bit during the day. I also have my workout schedule and one goal of mine is to get back into yoga, which has slipped lately.

So this is just for those who are interested. Cheers to all!


Move More, Live Better!

If there was ever a reason to get up and walk, here it is: Sitting Will Kill You.


And if you're thinking, "Isn't that a bit dramatic?", consider this - sitting for long periods of time contributes to living an overall sedentary lifestyle, whether your're sitting at work or during your daily commute or at home while relaxing and watching TV. Even for those of you who are able to achieve the 60 to 90 minutes of exercise most days of the week, spending long stretches of time sitting is still harmful. (continued behind the cut)


( More information this way... )




by wildrosedragon at faded_graphics

So I had myself convinced I was having a heart attack. I was having persistent chest pain on the left side with some radiating arm pain. So I think to myself..."that is where my heart is...I am middle aged..." Panic sets in. I do some internet researching which seems to confirm this self-diagnosis. All the sites, including Web MD, say go to the doctor and get checked out. So I do so yesterday.

Well, I am not having a heart attack, it turns out my killer tote bag done me in and I had bruising of the soft tissue on my chest bone from carrying too heavy a bag over my shoulder when I went to Seattle. I also strained my arm a bit from carrying the gihugic bag.

No heart attack but I am in a lot of pain. Prescribed ibuprophen, ice and variable heat.

Augh!


by autumn_mist