I got 51 visitors on Friday! I am so on my way to becoming internet famous.
Categories
Category: life
commentaries on the little stuff
Categories
doppleganger
Facebook has introduced me to my doppleganger! No, she doesn’t actually look much like me, but she shares my same mis-spelled Japanese name.
I now have to adjust to the idea that I’m not the only one, but at least I snagged the domain name before she did. 🙂 Also, I was born 7 months before her, so that still makes me first. (You know, cuz I had so much to do with naming myself…)
- I love hiking but haven’t done any in years. I miss it so much, I recently volunteered with my church youth group to specifically help with outdoorsy activities. And I don’t even like people …
- My name is unique, and I love it. I don’t mind spelling it, explaining its history or talking about its meaning.
- My favorite color changes periodically. It is currently purple, though I’m feeling a shift towards sagey-olivey-green.
- On the Myers-Brigg personality test, I am an ISTP, with an ‘I’ of 100%. That means I am 100% introvert. So basically, I don’t require human contact, and I don’t need or use input from others when I make decisions, which I am sure has caused great confusion among family and friends as they try to figure out what I am doing and why.
- My favorite pizza is pepperoni with black olive and mushroom. Being somewhat lactose-sensitive, I usually pay a price when I indulge myself, but it is oh so worth it.
- I went to an extremely religiously conservative college. While there, I learned that I hate it when everybody is the same. I much prefer to be surrounded by people with different ideas, preferences, backgrounds and characteristics. I have learned more from people who are NOT like me than I have learned from people who are like me.
- I got into software engineering to prove that I could hack it in a man’s world. I stayed because it turns out I’m kind of really awesome at it.
- I think pretty highly of myself, but I haven’t always.
- I sometimes have a favorite brother. (It’s not always the same brother. And each of them has held the honor at one time or another.)
- I am claustrophobic and have a fear of suffocation. You’ll never find me on the inside of a booth at a restaurant, I dread the dentist, I’ve never been able to relax enough to learn how to tread water, and the only real panic attack I’ve ever had was while snorkeling.
- I don’t fear getting old because my mother is gorgeous, and she seems to get even more so the older she gets. I have confidence that I will make it to 60 with my good-looks intact.
- If you really, really want to get to know me, establish an IM relationship with me. I am most comfortable sharing myself through IM – I probably share TOO much through IM.
- I was the third best writer in my high school AP English class. As for the two ahead of me, one just got her first book published, and the other is working on her phd at Princeton. Princeton! And all I got is a blog I named after myself that gets 12 readers on a good day. That’s all third best gets ya.
- I love celebrity gossip and advice columns.
- I can’t remember the last book I read. I keep meaning to get back into reading, but it just hasn’t happened yet.
- I got a facial for the first time last year, and it was awesome.
- I am currently subscribed to 52 blogs. Thank goodness for google reader, or I would never be able to keep up with them all.
- I love google. Right now, I have a tab open for gmail, a tab for google reader, a tab for google search, and I’m writing my 25 things in google docs.
- I don’t really have a strong passion for any one thing – I tend to dabble in a lot of things, and my passions ebb and flow.
- I play entirely too much freecell, mah jong, solitaire and mine sweeper. I tend to play the games in ‘speed mode,’ with lots of rapid clicking and little thinking ahead. I don’t often win …
- My husband is my best friend.
- I really hate javascript. I’d like for it to DIAF. Until that happens, I suppose Firebug makes it a little more bearable.
- I am fluent in regular English as well as technogeek.
- I’m friggin’ hilarious. But I’m the only one who thinks so.
- My pizza name is Kim. Sometimes Amy. But mostly Kim.
Conversation with the husband this morning:
TH: There’s a … vegetable … on the counter.
Me: You mean something besides the lettuce?
TH: No. No, just the … lettuce.
Me: I’m making a salad for lunch.
TH: Oh. Ok. Just wanted to make sure they weren’t taking over.
Me: Vegetables?
TH: Yeah.
Me: Oh. Nope, that was just me.
No less than TWO of my family members were starting to worry about me since I haven’t posted in awhile. So yeah, here I am, still alive!
So, just to recap, in my time away from blogging, I:
got summoned for Jury Duty
had Christmas in Texas
decided to write another murder mystery
knitted two Jayne hats
knitted a pirate sock and a half
decided to host a candle party
bought some new sweaters in 75% off January
got pretty and went to the husband’s company party
bought travel books for Italy!
and, talked to a financial planner.
Except for my time in Texas, I have been freeeeezing the entire time. The butt-cold does NOT agree with me.
And I am exhausted. I know I just had a holiday with New Years and all, but I am so ready for this upcoming 3-day weekend. So very ready.
Categories
a little nostalgic
This weekend I went out with the neighborhood ladies to enjoy an evening of screaming 13-year-old girls. Yup, that’s right, we went to go see Twilight.
The movie takes place in Washington state (where vampires are totally safe, only 50 days of sunshine a year), and it really brought me back to my childhood.
Squishy-muddy grass, trees everywhere, moss, rain, clouds, fog, the rare sunbreak through the clouds – all the details were spot on. It was filmed in Portland, just an hour away from my hometown, so no wonder it made me nostalgic.
Of course, it also reminded me of all the reasons I don’t live there any more: the squishy-muddy grass, rain, clouds, 50 days of sunshine a year …
Categories
bucking tradition
When I got home from work today, I had an interesting message on my answering machine. Mike Reed has requested that ‘Mr. Akaemi B.’ please return his call.
It has long been tradition that married women are referred to as ‘Mrs. the-husband’s first and last name.’ It is nice to see the trend moving in the other direction; men being referred to as ‘Mr. the wife’s name.’ I wonder, though, should it be ‘Mr. the wife’s maiden name’? Perhaps I will ask Mr. Reed when I return his call.
In church today was the annual ‘Primary Program’, where all the kids age 3-11 sit up front, sing, and each take a turn at the mic to say something truly inspirational. Being the teacher of the nine-year olds, that meant I also had to sit up front, sing, and take my turn at the mic to say something truly inspirational.
Two weeks ago, they informed us that we’d be singing a cutesy li’l duet, kids vs. teachers.
Now, God has blessed me with many talents. He did not feel the need, however, to bless me with any real vocal talent.
<We will now take a break to explain the akaemi singing-voice classification system. Starting at the top, there are solo voices, small ensemble voices, small choir voices, large choir voices, congregational voices, and the please-don’t-sing-not-even-in-the-shower-voices.>
So I have a congregational voice – with a little practice, I can do ok in a large choir. But two-weeks notice that I’ll be taking part in a small choir – who are spread out among all the children, so that makes it more like a small ensemble – is absolutely horrifying. For me, as well as anybody who has to listen to it.
But today after the program, I asked the husband how it all sounded. And he said he didn’t notice the teacher singing part. That he kept waiting for it, but he assumed it never happened.
Whew, that’s a relief! If the one person in the congregation who even cares about my existence didn’t notice me singing and failing, that pretty much means no one did.
Categories
nobody wants to bail me out
3 years ago, the husband and I took the plunge and bought a house. It was 2005, and housing was booming. Lenders were willing to loan ridiculous amounts of money. In fact, they scoffed at the “modest” amount of money the husband and I requested. They offered to loan us twice as much, but we declined; we knew how much money we made, we knew how much other debt we had, and we knew what kind of lifestyle we wanted to maintain.
And so we got a loan we could afford. We took a risk with an ARM, but even in a worst-case scenario, we knew we’d be able to afford the payments.
Silly us! If we had over-extended ourselves, we’d be able to renegotiate our loan terms. Instead of being stuck with a loan for twice as much as what our foreclosing neighbor is selling her house for, we might be able to get our principal reduced. Or get our ARM converted to a standard loan.
But, alas, we were responsible. And so there is no help for us.
Categories
wait – you’re joking, right?
The other day, the husband and I noticed that our new next-door neighbors had put rock in their flowerbed. It’s a lovely rock, nice marble chips – but it is, nonetheless, banned. By our over-protective HOA.
I finally caught one of the neighbors outside, and let him know the error of his ways. He looked at me with a blank look when I told him rocks in landscaping were against HOA rules. As I explained to him my HOA struggles, he suddenly registered what I was saying, and he stopped me with a flabbergasted, ‘Wait – you’re joking, right?’
I assured him that I was indeed being truthful, and I just wanted to warn them that the HOA may, at some future date, send them a nasty letter.
I still don’t think he believed me. Here’s hoping he’s spared the fate of dealing with the HOA.