I am Thankful for so many things so I decided I would give myself 3 minutes to type nonstop of what I am grateful for at this point in my life:

Nail Polish
Nail Polish Remover
Shakespeare
Bunnies
Vintage Clothing
Books
Lights
A Roof Over my Head
A snuggle Blanket
Pillows
Sun
Feeling
Make Up
Friends
Family
Neighbors
Theatre
Egg Nog
Roses
Nature
Art
Art In Nature
A World where peace exists in more places than is recognized
OBAMA
Love

Happy Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Whether you are spending it at home or in some distant land celebrate the season in your heart and take 3 minutes to recognize some of the things you are grateful for.
With Love,
Jessica

Each thought can be tied to the ends of the last word formed. Trees are grouped with the notes of a familiar song, dirt is relative to the water I’d rather not drink, and toilet paper tells me a story of Mummies and being young again. I’m will consider myself to be cognitive distance runner. if that makes any sense. And the beauty about that absurd statement is that my thoughts aren’t brilliant or even so much as beneficial to anyone… but they are there for me and with no room to stretch out.  And I’m glad I have them. So in my blogging absence, rest assured that I was not in a vegetable state. I’ve created Lists, Ranked things based on their importance, and discovered new aspects about myself and this life that will soon be documented. or eventually documented.

1. Community
2. Glee
3. the Office?
4. V

My nights have consisted of HULU and catching up on these tv shows. Community cracks me up with their wit and sarcasm. Glee is…. well I have no idea why I continue to be drawn to the show. The Office is intriguing for its amazing cast of comedians except for the Michael Scott dude. I just feel bad/annoyed at the guy during the entire episode. V is the new show about Aliens. It’s new, hence why it’s at the bottom, and I’m really interested to see how the Priest handles the beliefs of weary congregation and his Resistance against the aliens.

Lastnight was the 1st time in a long time I didnt say goodnight to anyone. I’m not sure why I noticed that but I laid in bed for about 40 or so minutes thinking about that. I dwelled on this vacant place in my… heart? head? somewhere in the northern place of my body, proly behind my chest. I had to think about the consecutive nights where I had closed my days with a simple cliche. Goodnight. Silent and wrapped in cold sheets. Its never been easy to be alone, but its easier than being alone with someone you dont wanna be with. I’ll keep my space for the time being.

Święta Rito, patronko spraw beznadziejnych!

Nie znam Cię. nie znam Twojej historii. nawet nie potrafię sobie wyobrazić, jak dużo musiałaś wycierpieć. przy tym mężu – brutalu, przy synach awanturnikach. nie znam Cię, ale moja koleżanka Cię zna i mówiła, że jej wiele razy już pomogłaś i ona teraz jest szczęśliwa. powiedziała, że zdradzi mi pewien sekret. “Wiesz – mówi – Rita to taka ludzka święta, ona przeżywała wzloty i upadki, ona Ci pomoże. Może pomyślisz, że głupia jestem, ale ja w nią wierzę, ona zbyt dużo dobrego dla mnie zrobiła”. Nie, ja nigdy nie pomyślałabym, że Monika może być głupia. To tak jakbym o sobie powiedziała. taką dziwną czuję z nią , choć widujemy się rzadko i piszemy też. Rito, mogę ci tak mówić, prawda? Będę się czuła swobodniej. Rito ja nie jestem człowiekiem religijnym. Chadzam do kościoła, ale to raczej z obowiązku. Wierzę w Boga i dzieciątko Jezus i jego Mamę. Wierzę w Jana Pawła II i w moją Babcię. bo ona, tak jak Ty Rito, dużo przez męża wycierpiała. I wierzę w Św. Antoniego. O! Gdyby nie on, to chyba bym własna głowę w końcu zgubiła. Podziękuj mu, za to, że ratuje mnie prawie zawsze i odnajduje te moje wszystkie codzienne pierdołki. Ma ze mną trochę roboty, nie powiem! Ale Rito, ja nie jestem religijna. modlę się tylko, gdy wsiadam do auta i gdy karetka na sygnale jedzie. kreślę na piersi znak krzyża. nie wiem, czy to się liczy. ale wierzę, że dobro zwycięża, że każdemu “jest zapisane” i że jest Bóg, bo ktoś musi tam być, bo inaczej nie byłoby sensu.
Rito, Ty też z pewnością gdzieś tam jesteś. i wierzę, że mnie wysłuchasz. i taką malutką mam nadzieję, że może trochę polubisz, po przyjacielsku pomożesz. wystarczy, że wesprzesz. to i tak dla mnie będzie dużo, jak na początek znajomości.
mam za sobą trudny okres. bardzo trudny. byłam nieznośna bardziej niż zwykle, byłam smutna bardziej i płakałam więcej. ale był przy mnie ON. i cierpiał ze mną. tulił mnie. wspierał na ramieniu. nie poddawał się. ciągnął do góry za rękę. i odszedł. powiedział, że się zmęczył, ze ma mnie dość, że nie chce ze mną być. Rito, on mi wyrwał serce razem z płucami. ja nie mogę oddychać! ja nie mogę żyć! Rito!
Po 6 wspólnie spędzonych latach, on mi powiedział, że jednak to nie ja jestem jego przeznaczeniem. że nie chce tego ślubu za rok, nie chce Marysi ani Krzysia, nie chce, Rito! Rozumiesz? Tak po prostu. kiedy ja już listę gości spisałam i rodzina już wiedziała, że ślub niedługo. i że ja go kocham ponad życie. i on mnie, bo tak o mnie dba. ale on mnie nie chce. ON mnie zostawił, porzucił, a ja siedzę i łzy same lecą po policzkach, spadają na ziemie, jak granaty. ON mnie nie chce… Rito. a ja mam chora pierś. i będę mieć badania i operację będę mieć. a on mnie zostawił. i nie powiedział, że sobie kolano skręcił i że chory jest. a ja się przejęłam i płaczę, bo nie wiem, co się z nim dzieje. a on powiedział, że to już nie moja sprawa, że ja już nie mam prawa pytać się o niego, o jego zdrowie, martwić się troszczyć. bo on już nie jest moim chłopakiem. a ja mam chora pierś. i kocham go, choć już nie mam czym. bo nie mam serca. i tak go nienawidzę zarazem. bo on mi zabrał tyle lat. bo tyle wypłakałam przez niego. bo mnie tyle razy zawiódł. a ja go kochałam. i on mnie zostawił.
I teraz smutna jestem cały czas. i płacze tylko i uśmiecham się przez łzy. a on nawet sms nie napisze. i sama jestem. sama. nie ma jego obok i pusto w łóżku i luka miedzy żebrami. i bezsens. wiesz Rito. bez sensu jest tera to wszystko. i wstawanie rano do pracy i nauka i radość i czytanie książek. i oglądanie filmów też już tak nie cieszy. bo z nim to najlepiej się oglądało.
Ale my Rito nie byliśmy idealna parą. kłóciliśmy się i godzili. i zawsze tak było. ale ja wiedziałam i on też, że my się kochamy i wybaczymy sobie. bo on nie mógłby byc z nikim innym, mówił, i ja tez z nikim innym nie potrafiłabym być.
Nie wiem Rito, co robić.
Nie śmiem nawet prosić Cie o pomoc, ale… ale zerknij na mnie przychylnie. bo ja już nie mam sił. bo jauz nie mam po co.

pozdrawiam,
Dżust

120) You often are running late, I usually am early, so we balance each other out well

119) You are a good cook, you just don’t give yourself enough credit

118) You always share with me

117) You’re not very decisive when it comes to deciding what to eat

116) We both love to explore new areas

• Bought The Fame Monster.
• The new Forever 21 opened up at the Mall- two stories of affordable clothes! I went on a shameless shopping spree already.
• Sandra Beijer is having a contest!
• The Beatles: On Record Documentary will be showing on the History Channel on Wednesday.
• Lisa Mandel started updating her website again!

I need to think about Grad school. Oops.

generally, my weekend went well..

..apart from the row i had with my dad about how closed away i was from my family.. and not counting the constant thoughts about how sick a person could make me.

if you can list 3 reasons for why you shouldn’t like him, don’t like him.

ah.. never mind.

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so, the weekend..

saturday was boring, but on sunday, as i said, i went to this attraction park called tivoli world with maria (my best friend ) and both our families to see my sister dance at this one show. after the show, we had some fun on the rides.

after tivoli world, we all went to mcdonalds! for lunch. i had a cheeseburger, a medium french fries thingy, 3 mcnuggets, a large sprite and a kitkat ice-cream cone. mm.. yum yum.

there was a funny text written on the sprite cup :

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i’ve nearly finished twilight. and i realized one thing.

the book is great. it’s the 5th time i read it and i’m still enjoying it just as much, especially the edward-bella relationship at the start-ish.

but catherine hardwicke fucked up everything. she cut out half the main characters’ relationship and she chose the wrong actors, or at least she gave them the wrong roles and characters to play. bella was too dull to be bella. edward was too human and girly to be edward. jacob was too grown-up-looking and well-built to be jacob.

hopefully, the new director has done all they could to fix things up a little. because new moon was a very enjoyable book and i’m going to re-read it this week before going to the cinema to finally watch the movie. and it better not be fucked up. because i want to get it on dvd later, just like i have twilight.

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i bit off two of my nails on saturday :L

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can’t wait for friday.

i’m going to miramar, the shopping centre, with maria and then i’m gonna watch new moon with her and i’m also planning to buy myself an agenda-diary for 2010 and possibly a folder for some personal stuff.

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

man.. just as i was writing, i got a phone call from my dad who went to drop my sister at flamenco lessons that they had had a car crash, a really bad one. O_O i got shit scared then. he told me they were totally fine, though they really did fuck up the car loads, and they crashed with another car (though i don’t YET know whose fault it was.. though probably my dad’s :S) and the police was there..

hopefully everything turns out fine.. :S

well.. although at least they came out unscathed. thank god for that at least.

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

do to this week:

• to finish reading twilight
• to read all of new moon
• to go to miramar with maria on friday
• to buy the agenda i really wanted in bookworld españa
• to watch new moon
• to criticise new moon and post my opinion of it on my blog
• to take some cool photos and post them up on photoblog
• to do all of my homework this week

as for now..

byebye

xx

PS.. i’m gonna upload some pics and videos a little later.. have no time atm.

1. Keep your ego in check.
   1. You are human. You are not infallible. You will make mistakes.
   2. Feel good about yourself but don’t put others down to feel better about yourself.
   3. Be happy with who you are.
   4. Be humble.
2. If you are in a bad situation speak up and get out!
3. SPEAK UP and OUT! Your opinions do matter. But don’t be overly aggressive or forceful.
4. Out of the bad will come the good. In the end you will be ok!
5. Keep goals realistic.
   1. If you fail at something, oh well. It’s not the end of the world. There are other and better options out there.
6. Learn when to say no! Learn when to stop yourself.
7. Don’t obsess over the bad.
8. Do not be bitchy 100% of the time.
9. If it feels bad and you think it will be wrong, stop. Don’t do it.
10. Everyone is human. Everyone makes mistakes. Learn to live and deal with theirs and yours. Learn from them.

I wrote this over a year ago one day at my old job. I have been meaning to type it up as a blog post. Now I have. Ah. Accomplishment. Now if I could just go ahead a follow these tips for myself I’ll be a much better person.

Low: I’ve been working too much and am exhausted.

High: We exceeded all our fundraising goals for the event I’ve been slaving away on. HALLELUJAH!

*****

Low: I still have only made a handful of felt pins.

High: The sale isn’t until Dec. 5th and I have Wed-Sun off this week so I should be able to craft enough of them in time.

*****

Low: I still have two open apartments available.

High: I have four messages to return about setting up viewings.

*****

Low: I still am not working out as much as I should.

High: My eating has not falling off the wagon. I’ve let the wagon go, apparently.

*****

Low: I have been emailing with a few guys I’ve met on line but haven’t made any concrete plans.*

High: Dating is not on the top of my priority list and I am totally okay with that.*

*Should these both be highs or both lows?

*****

Low: Our laundry room is being upgraded. When they put the washing machines back they didn’t hook them up right. No one has really been able to do laundry for a week. There could be a dirty underwear mutiny on my hands.

High: The repair guys have been called.

*****

Low: I stayed up too late.

High: It was worth it. The Swell Season show at the Paramount was FANTASTIC.

*****

Low: I am hosting Thanksgiving this year and have realized I don’t have enough plates to serve the 8-10 people coming over.

High: Reason to buy new dishware- score! Plus, I love being the hostess with the mostest.

*****

What are your highs and lows today?

There are a number of things that I’d love for Christmas, one would be an unlimited gift card for JB HiFi (to any American readers, think of Best Buy, but only for entertainment).

But anyway, here is a short (could be long) list of what I’d love for Christmas! Some items will be cheap, others will be costly, but all will be loved! All pictures are linked to their original websites
Click read more to see the list:

Plastic goodies!

Plastique have some fantastic goodies, and quite honestly turn me on with two of their products!

I absolutely love this necklace, sure, I’m a guy, but I really can see myself wearing this for a performance or even on a hot summer day. If that fails, I’d always have it on display in my study!

Pretty much the same excuse as before, very cool necklace, plus it highlights my love of music (the one and only god in my opinion!)

Teach The Controversy is a website which sells some really interesting tee shirts. I absolutely love different shirts, and really love having a massive collection of different shirts! No need to explain, click the picture to follow through to the web page!

I came across this fantastic clock made by Biegert & Funk, seriously, if you love me, you’ll spend the odd $3000 to buy this for me.

Seriously, click it, it’s sexy.

Who doesn’t love weird presents, I know I do!

I love candles, I love candles I can blow to turn on even more (don’t forget the batteries! AAAx3)

I would seriously use this, I hate losing staples, and it’s super cheap!

I love taking photos, and love taking long exposure shots too. This would be golden!

There are days when I just don’t care, this would be perfect for that day.

This would be perfect. just to have, seriously, for those days when you just don’t give a…. well, you get it.

At last I can have my own walking music!

It says Yanko Design, great website with some really interesting products

I often forget to use candles for some of my friends birthdays, this would help me stop forgetting, honest. seriously honest!

Realistically I don’t expect anything for Christmas, and if I’m given a present, I’m happy with whatever you think I’d like. I just like browsing at everything,

Happy loving!

Krislicked!

I had dinner with some friends last night and they added more to my list.

Has to be more manly – apparently I date guys who, emotionally, are much more girly than I am.  They get too attached and then I can’t stand it.  I didn’t realize that my friends couldn’t stand it either.  Maybe they just don’t like me complaining about it.
Can’t be in a band – I think this is just one of those things that could be negotiable. 
Must pay for dates – I’ve only had this happen a few times, but when guys pay for dates, it’s the most amazing thing.  It’s like they appreciate you just being there with them, want to take care of you by providing a basic need, or just want to be nice to you.  I also like it when guys open doors for me.  Although, it is always a little awkward the first time.  You never know if they are opening a door for you, or if they open the door and want to walk through first.  Some guys do that. 

Some of these things are not unreasonable.  Some are just stupid, but given my past, understandable.  Maybe I should take my mother’s advice (she got it from Oprah) and start figuring out what I want and who I want to be for this person.  I should make my own list.

Posted by Audiegrl

The guest list for Tuesday’s gala remains a secret, but it should solidify who is considered a VIP in the Obama White House. The dinner honors India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Los Angeles Times/Katherine Skiba—What’s the hottest ticket in the nation’s capital? An engraved invitation to Tuesday’s White House state dinner, the first hosted by President Obama.

He and the first lady will honor India’s prime minister. But in a departure from the traditional venue — the elegant State Dining Room — the Obamas will gather with a few hundred VIPs in a huge, heated tent on the South Lawn.

The guest list for the black-tie gala remains a closely guarded secret. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will certainly be there.

Several notables are good bets, such as Oprah Winfrey and Chicago hotel billionaire Penny Pritzker, as are top Obama aides David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett and Rahm Emanuel.

Dee Dee Myers, who served as President Clinton’s press secretary, said the lobbying by people seeking an invite had probably been relentless.

A dinner menu from the Clinton White House

“The first [state dinner] is always the most dramatic,” Myers said.

“First impressions are important. That’s your A list, that’s your top game right there. By the time you get to the eighth state dinner, it’ll be a lot less important.”

The gargantuan tent affords a bigger crowd than could fit in the State Dining Room, which holds 140.

State dinners generally draw administration officials and members of Congress, the Cabinet and the diplomatic corps. Obama donors and corporate titans, Hollywood glamour, athletic greats and leading artists are bound to be thrown into the mix, possibly joined by some academics and journalists.

And the morning after, hotheads left off the list are bound to let off steam.

Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh

“There’s always a few angry calls,” Myers said, “because people read the guest list” in the morning papers.

But until the dinner takes place, the heat is on, perhaps for no two people more than Desiree Rogers, the White House social secretary, and Cristeta Comerford, the White House’s top chef.

Myers was a guest at a few state dinners put on by Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is another guaranteed attendee Tuesday. As Secretary of State, she hand-delivered the invitation to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July.

Tented parties for state dinners aren’t entirely new. In President Clinton’s final year in office, he had about 700 guests under a tent for an earlier Indian prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

More @

Obama State Dinner Challenges, Real & Imagined: A Vegetarian Guest of Honor, A Scarcity of Vegetables…

“Vegetable veracity: The garden is low on crops, Mr. Singh is fond of fish, and about that beehive gift for dinner guests…“

Please visit our friends at Obama Foodorama. They have more pictures and details about the tent, menu, chef, etc…they are a great source for anything food related at the Obama White House.

Thieved this from Christielli. Basically, it’s a list of songs I really like that all happen to be the last song on the album.

• Black Sabbath – Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots (Paranoid)
• David Bowie – Rock and Roll Suicide (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars)
• Elton John – Burn Down the Mission (Tumbleweed Connection)
• King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King (In the Court of the Crimson King)
• Led Zeppelin – How Many More Times (Led Zeppelin)
• Ennio Morricone – Il Triello (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly soundtrack)
• Queen – The Show Must Go On (Innuendo)
• The Rolling Stones – You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Let It Bleed)
• Yes – Heart of the Sunrise (Fragile)
• Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Cowgirl in the Sand (Everybody Knows This is Nowhere)

Okay, now you’ve read the list. Go find yourself a copy of Heart of the Sunrise and listen to it. Whatever effort you require to find the song will be worth it. The song is just that great.

Awhile back, I blogged about NPR’s 50 Great Voices.  On that post, you could write in your suggestions on who would be in their voting.  This time around, they are also set for you to pick within the choices they have set for you.  Go check it out.  It is tough to decide just five people.  There are so many great choices.  But not only that, but it is a lot of fun.

Drive, Determination, Dominance, Dazzling, Daring, Devious, Delicious, Dark, Dangerous, Deceptive, Dandy, Divine, Dreamy, Dramatic, Demanding, Deranged, Decisive, Dignified, Diamonds, Designs, Death.

Damn.

Another attempt at revolutionizing the fashion industry with larger models had people cheering. I think it’s great that we change the standards to reflect a healthy figure. I wonder however, why we must make the leap from zero to fourteen. 0 – 14. Whatever happened to size 6? Or athletic & toned instead of voluptuous & curvy? Too long a leap, I reckon. Yes it’s mentally healthy to embrace one’s own body image and be accepting of all others, but having a BMI outside of the physiologically ‘healthy range’ is not so great. [NB: while Body Mass Index (BMI) is a flawed concept, in almost all cases where BMI is greater than 30, it represents an unhealthy habitus].

I’m not saying that individuals of size 14 aren’t beautiful. I’m speaking strictly of statistically healthy body dimensions and composition. Pure numbers for medicine. Not aesthetics. Because if the argument is “it’s good to see HEALTHY-sized models finally,” (as per the comments on that story) then I think the subjects in questions should be truly a healthy size. I’m also not saying it’s easy, just that it’s important!

I have seen some incredibly fat people. 650 pounds. 450 pounds. There’s no sidestepping or pussy footing here; my “P.C.” language is out the window, because it’s too serious not to be open and honest about.

Obesity is easily detectable; it’s not so easily treated. One day, I looked around the ICU. Eight out of our nine patients that day were obese, two were morbidly so. Coincidence? Not really. Obese people have a greater risk of many negative medical outcomes. So do malnourished people – though they are different problems and fortunately anorexia and malnutrition are not epidemic in North America.

Listing things doesn’t change anything. People know that being fat isn’t healthy; but it’s academically interesting to know why, and there may be some surprises. I’ll write about making changes another time. So, here goes – and FYI this is not a complete list.

Systems-based consequences of obesity:

Neuro/psych (brain): low self esteem is a fairly common and unfortunate state in those with BMIs over 30, but so too are depression, anxiety, and fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome; diminished mental capacity is also a problem, oddly enough

Occular (eyes): via high blood pressure or diabetes, decreased visual acuity and blindness can ensue; even without concomitant disorders, obese people are at greater risk of developing eye disease, like glaucoma and cataracts

Cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels): high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, blood clots in the legs (DVTs) that can move to the lungs (pulmonary emboli), and congestive heart failure all occur more frequently

Respiratory (lungs and airway): problems here are variable; restrictive lung disease and obstructive sleep apnea are pretty common; undergoing anaesthesia is also more dangerous

Gastrointestinal (Esophagus, Stomach, Bowels, Liver, Gallbladder): gastroesophageal reflux, stomach ulcers, fatty liver, gall stones, and bowel cancer; some studies suggest an increased prevelence of pancreatic or gallbladder cancer as well

Genitourinary (Reproductive, Kidney, Bladder): Obstetric Complications are manifold: these include gestational hypertensive and diabetes, and delivery complications such as higher rates of caesarean sections and prolonged time of delivery (Obesity Review). Fertility is also an issue with higher rates of amenorrhea and infertility, not to mention the fact that susceptibility to endometrial, ovarian, and (postmenopausal) breast cancer is elevated. Oh, and more kidney cancer too. Cancer! Cancer! Cancer!

Dermatological (skin): Dermatological complications are also common; I often see skin folds infected with Candida (yeast), and unpleasantly for all, it’s hard for very large people to wash, so body odor can be a problem

Musculoskeletal (muscles and bones): Generally, with exceptions, obese people are less capable of physical activity; their weight also predisposes them to gouty and osteo arthritis; if sedentary, muscle contractures can arise

Endocrine (hormones): Everyone and their dog knows that there is a link between excess fat and Insulin Resistance/Diabetes Mellitus, but Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and even thyroid conditions are other hormonal derangements that occur

 

** As a patient, you would be difficult to examine (I can’t feel the organs in your belly or hear your heart with my stethoscope), difficult to intubate (the weight of your chest compresses neck tissue), and difficult to test (your veins are lost under the adipose tissue, you might not fit in the CT scanner or MRI tube).**

As a doctor, it is a MAJOR struggle to help patients manage a diet, exercise schedule, and (in some cases) food addiction. Most people are pre-contemplative. They know that being obese might have some effects on health, but they don’t think anything bad will happen to them, or they wish to continue as they are, despite negative consequences. More often, people know they should change but don’t believe that they can. Sometimes it takes something as serious as a heart attack to jar someone into action.

Everyone copes differently. Self-control is a factor; this awesome New Yorker article explores Walter Mischel’s marshmallow experiment and the secret of self-control. Diets, portion control, substitutions, exercise, psychotherapy, support groups, and pills or gastric bypass are things people try. Everyone is different. Even if you have a “junk food gene” you can trump it. Like I mentioned above, I’ll write about that another time. Right now, this post itself is tipping the scales, so it’s time to stop!

And in recognition of just how difficult it is…

(with lots of help from CodeMonkey and MommaCodeMonkey)

• Helped PioneerJ teach a class on basket weaving
• Ransacked the costume closet at the museum
• Bought curtain fabric
• Sealed up the giant heat sucking tube of frigidness (i.e. the swamp cooler) so we can at least pretend that we’re not heating the outdoors
• Hung one pair of curtains
• Hung one set of vertical blinds
• Cat-proofed my office
• Changed the direction of the doors on the refrigerator (now they open in the kitchen instead of in the dining room)

What I did not do this weekend:

• Bake
• Go to spinning group
• Work on any of my sewing projects
• Knit anything

What made me happy this weekend:

I found a couple of things that just make my little dorky heart jump for joy.

More on these later, I think.

So… I’m trying out the Word Press blog thing, because I hear it’s better. I’m still a little confused by it personally, but I’ll give it a go, I guess. I only wish I had something more profound to say for the first entry, but I don’t. In my usual, list-of-the-day spirit, however, I shall attempt to come up with a nice list for you.

In case none of my fellow Oregonians noticed, it is bloody cold out there. And yes, I realize it will be colder before we’re done, it’s only November, blah-de-blah, but I hate the cold and it’s all pretty equal in my eyes once the mercury drops below about 60 (figuratively speaking, of course, because who uses a thermometer with that dangerous mercury stuff in it anymore?). And this train of thought led me to think back to last winter and how it was bloody cold and how we were completely snowed in for about a week around Christmas time, and I figured that in the spirit of Thanksgiving I would write a nice little list of things I do not miss at all about my former living accomodations.

#1) Heating with Propane – I do not miss this at all. In fact, the smell of propane sort of makes me want to vomit now that I’ve had the benefit of a whole 8 months not being surrounded by it constantly. If there had been a carbon monoxide detector in our old house, it would have been going off 24/7 probably. It’s a wonder we aren’t dead.

#2) Roughly Equal Indoor/Outdoor Temperatures – It’s one thing to have it be 32 degrees outside at night, but it’s quite another to have it be 32 degrees outside at night and wake up to find that it’s barely 40 degrees in your living room.

#3) Frozen Shampoo – Yes, I actually did a few times have it get so cold in the bathroom that my shampoo was freezing in the bottle. That was just wrong.

#4) Cold Bathroom – On a related note, taking a shower in a bathroom where the ambient temperature is about 40 degrees is not at all fun. The shower itself is okay, but the getting in and getting out parts really suck. Running out of hot water during your shower sucks double, because not only do you get showered with icy water, but then you get out of the shower and your hair begins to freeze up. (Okay, that never actually happened in the bathroom, but it was pretty close. I did have my hair freeze at the bus stop once, though.) Also not fun is having to get up to pee at 3 a.m. You think your toilet seat is cold…

#5) Exoskeletal House Pests – One of the drawbacks of having a home with almost entirely linoleum flooring is that when something crawls on linolem, it makes noise. Especially if it’s carpenter ants and there are 95 or so of them. And definitely if it is a spidermouse. I still have not broken myself completely of the habit of checking the bathroom thoroughly before I get in the shower.

#6) Endoskeletal House Pests – Another thing I do not miss is washing everything I take out of the silverware drawer before using it because there’s no way of knowing what was crawling on it in there. Well, okay… I did know. The little buggers left plenty of evidence behind. But really I think knowing was probably just a little bit worse.

#7) Sawtell Road – Some of you might be familiar with Sawtell Road. I grew up on it and learned to drive on it, and never knew how much I hated driving up and down that road every day until I didn’t have to do it anymore. Now I do it maybe once a week. I’m looking forward to not having to try to skate down it in the ice every morning to get to work.

Yeah, really when it comes down to it, there’s only one thing I actually do miss about the old house. And it can be summed up as “not having neighbors”. The 10 o’clock quiet time rule in this apartment complex pretty seriously cramps my style, but it’s a drawback I can live with.

Song o’ the Day: “So Cold”  by Breaking Benjamin. Go listen to it. Better yet, watch the video here. I love me a good music video.

Objective-C can be quite verbose, especially when handling nested data – there is no simple associative array indexing of the kind found in PHP, Ruby etc.

ObjC : verbose : id value = [map objectForKey:@"key"];

Using atx functions : concise : id value = at(map, @”key”);

This comes in very handy for deeply nested json data trees, where you might want to index a multidimensional array or nested tree – vis :

id pop = at(at(at(stats, @”USA”), @”NewYork”), @”popn”);

Not quite as simple as pop = stats["USA"]["NewYork"]["popn"]; but more readable than several objectForKey’s.  Note, I propagate the nulls up so if an item is not found at any level, it can be checked once at the top level without crashing the app.

The small suite of related functions can be found at google code here, under BSD licence – http://code.google.com/p/xathack/

enjoy.

[限時免費] TaskLister：限定24小時免費！

itunes link

**一樣不多說了，先去下吧！
**看來是很單純的一個app，沒有同步功能，也不能寄出。
**就說優點是，簡單明瞭吧。這樣的特色也是會符合一些人的需求滴～

1.A great tutorial from a fellow blogger

2. Heh

3. The Universe.
I could sit and stare at these pictures all day

4. Vintage-y Love

5. Inspirational video on some great art

6. Land Art for Kids.
New website from Richard Shilling.

7. Another inspirational video

8. More and More everyday I love Bloglines. Great site to keep all the blogs I follow in order

9. Some beautiful jewelry from some my fellow Etsy sellers

10. More cute looking animals

I hope you all had a great week!

I recently put this description of Nottingham on ‘Where I’ve Been’, well, it’s more like an extended list than a description, which is down to my writing skills, lack of that is, but I love living in Nottingham. It’s an outstanding city.

Clumber Street

Nottingham is a vibrant city, with first-class shopping attracting millions of people every year and consistently ranked in the top five UK shopping destinations. There are over 1,300 outlets; independent retailers, designer boutiques and high street favourites.

The city’s famous Old Market Square is the largest public square outside of London and is dominated by the 200 foot high dome of the Council House, the traditional centre for Nottingham City Council.

The left and right stone lions that guard the entrance to the Council House are a popular meeting place for local people.

Theatre Square

There are cosy pubs, stylish bars and vibrant nightclubs, making Nottingham the regional capital for nightlife and live music.

The city has a huge variety of live music venues and a pioneering art and culture scene, there are contemporary and classical theatres, the Trent FM Arena and art galleries such as the Nottingham Contemporary and New Art Exchange.

Castle Gatehouse

Nottingham Castle houses a museum and art gallery and has superb grounds with views across the city and over the Trent valley. There are also museums and spectacular parks at Wollaton Hall and Newstead Abbey, along with many other parks and gardens. The city’s Arboretum was the first designated public park in Nottingham and officially opened on 11 May 1852.

Nottingham has award winning and cosmopolitan cuisine; there are more than 300 cafes and restaurants, offering more international food outlets per square mile than anywhere else in the UK.

Trent University

For anyone interested in sport there are first-rate facilities and entertainment at venues such as Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Forest’s City Ground and County’s Meadow Lane for football, the National Ice Centre, Nottingham Racecourse, the National Water Sports Centre and the Nottingham Tennis Centre.

Nottingham has two of the country’s foremost universities, Nottingham University and Trent University, and has the third largest student population in England.

Queen Street

Tram on Cheapside

View of the Lace Market from Castle Rock