It's like she never left! Kent was working on the front yard today, and Crazy was out there for a good hour, harassing him and the workers and taking pictures, etc. The cops were called, showed up, and left without ever talking to Kent about her complaints (unfounded, HAH!).
The security camera got some pretty good footage, but the edited video was still too long for youtube (about 13 minutes, and 10 is the limit). I've been in front of the computer for too long, but may go back and cut some of the crazy surveillance so I can post it for a few peoples' amusement.
The only new thing which I don't care for is her (?) teenaged son is getting involved now. Just what we need, someone with worse judgement skills than her. Christ.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Busy on the computer
I should go to sleep soon but am in the middle of setting up a new user account on the home computer. Apparently this is the easiest way to maintain separate iTunes libraries - sigh. I haven't used iTunes since version 7 really annoyed me more than two years ago, but I want to move some things around and get some new stuff on my ipod. (what! I have 3406 songs on my ipod, it's not like I have nothing to listen to!) Unfortunately the new account also requires a lot of settings-setting, and I'll need to move some files around (but I cleverly gave myself full administrative rights so that should not be a problem!).
After that, I will update my iTunes and my pictures and my shutterfly and do all kinds of cool stuff.
In the mean time, I've been working a lot (duh), and spent time last weekend touching up paint details in the hallway and front bedroom, and I have started the long task of going through stuff and deciding what to get rid of.
I'm going to try and sell two of the couches (the black one and the fold-out blue one, if you're interested...), a couple of posters, and I'll see what else there is. A lot of clothes will be going to Goodwill, and a lot of stuff will get thrown out. Last night, I took a quick pass through my "pharmacy box" and good lord, I have a lot of expired pharmaceuticals in there. I can't throw them in the trash, since then the drugs would leach into the soil at the landfill, but the local hazardous waste site would take them. I will also look into local pharmacies that will dispose of them properly, since that would be more convenient.
Of course, part of this is to clear out the back bedroom. I'm debating whether to use my "extra" door back there, which would require some carpentry work and a new landing out back. It would be nice to use that door though - it's the one I ordered too large for the kitchen. I'm still bitter. Then I'd patch everything up, peel off the wallpaper and bad trim back there, and repaint the room. And then I'll be done! Unless I move on to the garage and the yard. :P We're close to making another offer on a house in SF, though, so I probably won't get that far. Maybe.
I'll post soon about dress shopping last Friday. It was quite girly but not without its dangers (including an incident where I was trapped by a zipper).
After that, I will update my iTunes and my pictures and my shutterfly and do all kinds of cool stuff.
In the mean time, I've been working a lot (duh), and spent time last weekend touching up paint details in the hallway and front bedroom, and I have started the long task of going through stuff and deciding what to get rid of.
I'm going to try and sell two of the couches (the black one and the fold-out blue one, if you're interested...), a couple of posters, and I'll see what else there is. A lot of clothes will be going to Goodwill, and a lot of stuff will get thrown out. Last night, I took a quick pass through my "pharmacy box" and good lord, I have a lot of expired pharmaceuticals in there. I can't throw them in the trash, since then the drugs would leach into the soil at the landfill, but the local hazardous waste site would take them. I will also look into local pharmacies that will dispose of them properly, since that would be more convenient.
Of course, part of this is to clear out the back bedroom. I'm debating whether to use my "extra" door back there, which would require some carpentry work and a new landing out back. It would be nice to use that door though - it's the one I ordered too large for the kitchen. I'm still bitter. Then I'd patch everything up, peel off the wallpaper and bad trim back there, and repaint the room. And then I'll be done! Unless I move on to the garage and the yard. :P We're close to making another offer on a house in SF, though, so I probably won't get that far. Maybe.
I'll post soon about dress shopping last Friday. It was quite girly but not without its dangers (including an incident where I was trapped by a zipper).
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
I HAS A BLING!
Shield your eyes!
So there it is! Admittedly, it is going to take some getting used to. I am now virtually guaranteed to get distracted by the pretty in meetings, conversations, etc. (".... I'm sorry, what?") I can't say my friends didn't warn me. It is sparkly!
When we picked out the rocks last week, I was down to two choices for the center stone, a 0.50 carat versus a 0.56 carat. Both brilliant cut, both color F, both VS2. They were placed on the display velvet for me to poke with jeweler's tweezers and drop into an empty ring setting. FYI if you haven't handled loose stones before, you had better be comfortable with the embarrassment that will come when those slippery little buggers escape you and bounce with little clicks all over the display cabinet.
Where was I? Oh yes, the diamond showdown.
The 0.50 stone was really catching my attention. I could practically hear a faint heavenly chorus when I looked into its glittery depths. ("aaaaaaaaahhh!") Then I looked at the 0.56 stone. Very pretty. Then back at the 0.50 stone and the chorus was becoming a little more insistent. ("Aaaaahhhhh!!") Kent was encouraging me to go with the larger stone if I wanted it, but how could I resist one that sang to me?
The side stones are from a pair of stud earrings that were in the store.
Strangely, in halogen light, the center stone appears to be darker than the side stones when looked at head on, but I think it's a function of the angle. The side stones are angled out, so the refraction is different. It looks all white in natural light.
Mmmmm. Sparkly.
....I'm sorry, what?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
My celebrity boyfriend
SWOONING over Brandon Flowers. Isn't he dreamy?
I've been listening to the Killers since 2005 or so, and I like them, but wasn't a huge fan. However, something has happened to my brain and now I have a huge crush on Brandon. Although we've been listening to Killers tracks a lot in the gym recently, I think this really started when he sang with the Pet Shop Boys at this year's Brit awards.
Then, on the music channel Palladium, we caught some of an MTV Europe special (low res below, alas) showing them performing "Human". It's a great track, and between the staging, the appropriation of Echo and the Bunnymen lyrics, that voice, and the jacket with the feather epaulets, I'm a lightheaded fangirl.
SIGH.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Socializing and sleeping
Well, I have to say I'm not very impressed with my productivity this weekend. I had three days, and only spent about a day's worth of time actually doing things like errands and house projects. On the plus side there was an immoderate amount of sleeping in, and not just one, but two nights of socializing. And progress on some small wedding items!
On Friday, I picked up my dry cleaning, put up my freshly cleaned curtains, and went to SF to try and get some new clothes. I need so many kinds of new clothes at the moment I hardly know where to start, but I tried to focus on button-down shirts, a black cardigan, and a nice blazer if one should present itself. I was open to other things, since my wardrobe at the moment seems to consist entirely of work clothes and beater clothes to paint in, but the help was kind of weird.
In a couple of stores, the clerk was very helpful in getting my things to a dressing room, but once I was in the dressing room it was like I never came in. At the first store, the two shirts I'd started the room with weren't there. I waited around since sometimes the clerk asks if you need something, but in this case, it was just crickets, and I gave up after about 10 minutes. At another store, it was the same thing - lots of attention until I got into the dressing room. I had a really cute top, which I wanted to try the next size up in, but I could not get a clerk's attention, even when I walked out and tried to catch someone's eye. I tried again when I had nothing else to try on, same result, so rather than walk out to the floor and leave my stuff in the dressing room, I left (although will see if I can get this item online - it was cute!) I'm happy to report that Banana Republic had excellent help, bringing in many items to the dressing room to try and get a good fit (and a sale).
Kent and I had an appointment with the jeweler on Friday, to pick out the stones for my ring. That was an interesting experience, which I'll fully blog in its own post, and we ended up getting a couple of small things that caught our eyes. After that, we met Lani and Bob for dinner, and ice cream. If you're in SF and near Dolores Park, check out the Bi Rite ice cream shop on 18th st. I had the salted caramel ice cream with hot fudge sauce, but I regret now I didn't get the cinnamon ice cream with snickerdoodle pieces. Next time...
Saturday I was completely useless. We went back to the city in the afternoon, to interview a potential wedding planner, since we need big help with the reception. We'll need to get back to her, but I think we can really use her services, narrowing our options down and helping with coordination. We then went to Liz and Grady's engagement party on the Embarcadero.
As a word of warning - I'm sure most of you already know, but just in case - if you start with an empty stomach, and then follow a vodka cocktail with a glass or two of champagne, you can say goodbye to a chunk of brain and part of your liver. You'll have fun doing it, though! It was a fun party, and since there were two other engaged couples there, we were all looking at each other's rings and trading stories about planning problems. (FYI, I had no ring to show yet, so used the LED flashing ring that was handed out as a party favor on my ring finger) We got home around midnight and went straight to sleep.
I got a few things done on my house today, most notably in getting my new house numbers put up (finally). I have some small painting jobs to work on during evenings this week, and I need to continue working on emptying the back room so I can paint it. I'm debating whether to use the big glass door back in that room - I'll have to reframe the hole in the structure, but more importantly, if I'm working to code, I'd have to pour another step in the yard back there to have a proper landing. It really would be less trouble to leave things as they are. Hmmm.
On Friday, I picked up my dry cleaning, put up my freshly cleaned curtains, and went to SF to try and get some new clothes. I need so many kinds of new clothes at the moment I hardly know where to start, but I tried to focus on button-down shirts, a black cardigan, and a nice blazer if one should present itself. I was open to other things, since my wardrobe at the moment seems to consist entirely of work clothes and beater clothes to paint in, but the help was kind of weird.
In a couple of stores, the clerk was very helpful in getting my things to a dressing room, but once I was in the dressing room it was like I never came in. At the first store, the two shirts I'd started the room with weren't there. I waited around since sometimes the clerk asks if you need something, but in this case, it was just crickets, and I gave up after about 10 minutes. At another store, it was the same thing - lots of attention until I got into the dressing room. I had a really cute top, which I wanted to try the next size up in, but I could not get a clerk's attention, even when I walked out and tried to catch someone's eye. I tried again when I had nothing else to try on, same result, so rather than walk out to the floor and leave my stuff in the dressing room, I left (although will see if I can get this item online - it was cute!) I'm happy to report that Banana Republic had excellent help, bringing in many items to the dressing room to try and get a good fit (and a sale).
Kent and I had an appointment with the jeweler on Friday, to pick out the stones for my ring. That was an interesting experience, which I'll fully blog in its own post, and we ended up getting a couple of small things that caught our eyes. After that, we met Lani and Bob for dinner, and ice cream. If you're in SF and near Dolores Park, check out the Bi Rite ice cream shop on 18th st. I had the salted caramel ice cream with hot fudge sauce, but I regret now I didn't get the cinnamon ice cream with snickerdoodle pieces. Next time...
Saturday I was completely useless. We went back to the city in the afternoon, to interview a potential wedding planner, since we need big help with the reception. We'll need to get back to her, but I think we can really use her services, narrowing our options down and helping with coordination. We then went to Liz and Grady's engagement party on the Embarcadero.
As a word of warning - I'm sure most of you already know, but just in case - if you start with an empty stomach, and then follow a vodka cocktail with a glass or two of champagne, you can say goodbye to a chunk of brain and part of your liver. You'll have fun doing it, though! It was a fun party, and since there were two other engaged couples there, we were all looking at each other's rings and trading stories about planning problems. (FYI, I had no ring to show yet, so used the LED flashing ring that was handed out as a party favor on my ring finger) We got home around midnight and went straight to sleep.
I got a few things done on my house today, most notably in getting my new house numbers put up (finally). I have some small painting jobs to work on during evenings this week, and I need to continue working on emptying the back room so I can paint it. I'm debating whether to use the big glass door back in that room - I'll have to reframe the hole in the structure, but more importantly, if I'm working to code, I'd have to pour another step in the yard back there to have a proper landing. It really would be less trouble to leave things as they are. Hmmm.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Check! Check! Check!
Well, I survived the work week last week (yay!), and have just one more hell day (tomorrow) before the bands loosen up a bit. I primarily blame the hyperactive, overanxious minion who somehow thinks it's a good idea to schedule a meeting at 7 am on the Monday after a holiday. It's going to be a long, very early-starting day. Including coaching for said minion.
I've spent a lot of the weekend sleeping. This entailed mostly falling asleep early on the couch, then sleeping in. I missed any semblance of fireworks last night, since I conked out around 9 pm. That is pretty lame, but I think I've been running closer to the edge of exhaustion than I thought, so I'm just enjoying what down time I'm getting. We've had some really good grilled meals this weekend, too. Tonight, I get the feeling it's canned chili for dinner, but we've both been busy today.
I also made a lot of progress on small things at the house over the long weekend. All the living room furniture is back in place, I've been organizing all my tools and clearing a path through the garage (that cardboard tower will go when I find my twine), the defective breaker has been replaced, the smoke detector is back up in the hallway, the linens from the back room have all been washed and put into the linen closet, the bathroom now has a cabinet, a mermaid sculpture, and most of a threshold in place, and I'm starting to sort things into keep-donate-sell-toss piles. I have way too much stuff and it's time for a winnowing.
Let's see, what else? I need to make a template for my new house numbers, and there are some small painting jobs to wrap up (doors, trim, touch-up) before clearing and fixing up the back bedroom, the last room in the house that has been untouched.
I feel much better that things are getting done. With luck, we may even get to some wedding-related planning next weekend. Fingers crossed!
I've spent a lot of the weekend sleeping. This entailed mostly falling asleep early on the couch, then sleeping in. I missed any semblance of fireworks last night, since I conked out around 9 pm. That is pretty lame, but I think I've been running closer to the edge of exhaustion than I thought, so I'm just enjoying what down time I'm getting. We've had some really good grilled meals this weekend, too. Tonight, I get the feeling it's canned chili for dinner, but we've both been busy today.
I also made a lot of progress on small things at the house over the long weekend. All the living room furniture is back in place, I've been organizing all my tools and clearing a path through the garage (that cardboard tower will go when I find my twine), the defective breaker has been replaced, the smoke detector is back up in the hallway, the linens from the back room have all been washed and put into the linen closet, the bathroom now has a cabinet, a mermaid sculpture, and most of a threshold in place, and I'm starting to sort things into keep-donate-sell-toss piles. I have way too much stuff and it's time for a winnowing.
Let's see, what else? I need to make a template for my new house numbers, and there are some small painting jobs to wrap up (doors, trim, touch-up) before clearing and fixing up the back bedroom, the last room in the house that has been untouched.
I feel much better that things are getting done. With luck, we may even get to some wedding-related planning next weekend. Fingers crossed!