Update, slacker style

Hi Friends!

Here's the poop, in small bite size morsels... doesn't that sound appealing!  Ha!

• T has a new potential girlfriend!  Woo hoo!!!  You know how it is when you have ended a relationship but you still feel a little bit responsible for the ex's happiness or well-being.  It's such a relief when they hook up with someone else!  She still calls me virtually every morning so I am fully up to date on how it's going.  TMI?  Yep.

• I spent a week in Southern California with my two besties and, for part of the week, my daughter.  Love, love, love.  (I don't, however, love So Cal.  It is SO DIRTY!)  The weather was perfect, cool and cloudy almost all of the time.  We went to two botanical gardens and that was lovely, spent a day at the horse races where I came out ahead by $1.29 at the end of the day.  

• Spring is going like gang-busters here in the PNW.  The early bloomers are done but my towering mock orange has just broken out in a spectacular display.  Heavenly!

• My friend from New York is coming for a visit!!!  She hasn't been to the PNW before so I'll have lots to show her.  Super excited!  Again, perfect weather is in the forecast -- cool and cloudy with occasional rain.  That's what it's really like here, might as well get the true experience.

• A friend from high school has moved to my city and wow, is he busy!  He invites me out to places I've never even heard of despite living here for over a quarter century.  I've gone out with him a few times.  We are getting together next month with another guy from our high school days and I'll admit to being curious about how the two of them interact.  They were both closeted gays back then (well, weren't we all?) and now they are most definitely not.  We'll be waving the rainbow flag together.  

That's all I've got this morning.  I could ramble on but I'll spare you that.  Plus, I've got to get back to whipping the house into shape.  Cheers, m'dears!

Ketchup

Here’s a little catch up post:

• ·         The Seahawks won the Super Bowl!  But, you knew that already…  still, we’re happy!  My hair color is slowly washing out.  Still quite colorful, though!
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• ·         Remember the old dog we were fostering?  Angus?  He got adopted!  Amazingly, there were three different families that were interested in him and we had to let him go.  He is now living downtown in one of the swankiest neighborhoods in Portland.  He has a middle-aged dog buddy and two happy humans to keep him company.  We haven’t taken on another foster yet, but we will.
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• ·         I have filled the open support staff position (again) in my office and I am sending up a prayer that it is for the last time.   We’ll see.  Once she gets up to speed, I will be transferring some of my workload to her and scaling back on my hours.  I am so excited at the prospect of working less!
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• ·         A friend from childhood is coming to Portland on a college scouting trip with her son.  She asked if they could stay.  When we were talking about it, I thought the plan was for them to come on Friday and leave on Saturday.  So, I said yes.  Then she sent me her itinerary.  They are coming Thursday and leaving Monday.  Who does that?!  We haven’t seen each other for many, many years; I’ve never met her son; we have other plans…  yikes!  T is fuming, of course.  I mean, it’s a holiday weekend!  We had planned to sleep in!  We’ll see how this plays out.  There’s little chance that they will get a second invitation. (Am I being too grouchy? Not sure.)
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• ·         I’ve been enjoying the Olympics – despite Bob Costas’ eye issues.  But, just like every other time, I take issue with the broadcasting decisions.  Why do we only get to see the pretty people, or the sure winners, or just the Americans?  And, for crying out loud, why is NBC running infomercials on Saturday instead of showing non-stop games?!  Gah!!!  If only I were in charge of the broadcast!  We would see it ALL!
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• ·         The snow.  Ok, I hesitate to add this to the list since all of you live in places that get real winter weather and have been bludgeoned by it this winter.  BUT.  We had a snow storm in Portland that shut the city down.  It was crazy.  Kind of fun since it happens so seldom, but also kind of pathetic and aggravating.  The snow was followed by an ice storm just to add to the transportation woes, but we are all back at work now and the snow has melted.  At least throughout the metro area.  Hopefully we got lots in the mountains and it will last.  We don’t want to follow California into a drought.   I did get my cross country skis out and went around the block.  That was fun.  Then I went inside and watched the Olympians cross country skiing.  Nice juxtaposition, I though.  :-)

I think that’s it for now.  I’m trying to keep track of stuff and actually post the occasional update. 

Cheers, m’dears!

Catching up with Bullets!

•          Happy New Year!  The resolution?  Just like everyone else… lose weight.  We are trying some new strategies this time, though.  One should help: we’ve stopped drinking.  We are not drinking alcohol for one month and, when February rolls around we will limit ourselves to weekends only.  Sigh.  Talk about a sacrifice!

•          Besides needing to lose weight and detox, I am also resolving to call my friends more often.  My two best friends live in California and I miss them a lot.  The phone is a poor substitute but it will have to do.

•          Changing up my teaching schedule.  I have been teaching kids classes two evenings a week and starting in February I’m going to be teaching a women’s self defense class one afternoon a week.  Much as I love the kids, I’m looking forward to the change.

•          Changing up my work schedule.  My department is undergoing some changes in leadership and I am going to switch from working the early day shift to the “white man” hours, ie: more like 8:00 to 5:00.  I am going to position myself to take my manager’s job because, for one thing, I already do the majority of it, and for another thing, he’s a putz and a useless one at that.  It will take a fair amount of strategy but I’ve developed some skill in that arena.  Wish me luck!

•          Also pursuant to the job strategy: new shoes.  And clothes.  But, I hate shopping and I’m not buying any clothes until I shed some weight.  But, I do need some office shoes.  Athletic shoes just don’t send the same message.

•          Hair cut!  For some damned reason I decided to grow out my hair, and specifically my bangs this past year.  They are just now to the point where I can tuck them behind my ears so I am almost there.  But, I realized that I now have the same haircut as my mom and much as I love her, I don’t want to look like her!  I browsed through some awesome styles at dykehaircuts.tumblr.com and I have an appointment on Monday to chop it all off.  Nothing too dramatic; I don't want to scare the administration.

·         Other than that, my goal for the New Year is to keep doing what I’m doing and love life and the people around me.  How about you?  Goals, resolutions, dreams?

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Bullets

First, an apology. I’m sorry I have been so remiss in blogging! I have a lot on my plate right now and am in a bit of a funk, and that combination leaves little resource for putting coherent thoughts together. However, here are a few bullets to just scratch the surface of what’s going on in my tiny world.


• Relationship. When I told T that we needed to see a counselor, it had the effect of making us more sensitive to each other, and kinder in our communication, at least for a while. That effect has worn off, though, and we are back to our reactive patterns. My goal is to have an appointment next week and start really working on these issues.


• Work. ARGH! Still happy to be employed, but the piling on of ever more tasks is wearing me down. Also, our half-time person quit and the rest of the staff and I are taking turns doing her job one day a week. Ends up being a very unproductive day. Get this: she emailed me while she was on vacation to say that a manager in another area would be calling for a reference. Never said a word prior to that, never really turned in her notice. Brat.


• Gym. Thank god for the gym! I have only lost about 5 pounds since the beginning of the year but I know I’ve lost some girth. I can tell by the fit of my blue cords. They slip right on these days… yay! And, I just feel so good after a vigorous workout. Very good for the mental health.


• The Kid. I’m going to visit my daughter for a long weekend in May. I’m so happy about that! I haven’t seen her for a year and a half and that is just killing me. I’m only going for 4 days because I don’t want to be too much of an aggravation ~ plus, I can’t stand the boyfriend. But, she and I have some really fun gardening projects planned. We’re building some raised beds in her back yard! Another Yay!


• Deadlines. I have a deadline of June for completing my apprenticeship in the self defense instructor program. I still have several classes to teach and I am going to be pushing right up against the deadline. I can’t bear the thought of not finishing, though. I have invested a lot of time, energy and tears in this program and it means so much to me on so many levels.


• Societal despair. So damned discouraged over our country and all of the narrow minded bigots with big mouths and no brains. Will we live in a society that values all individuals… in my lifetime? I don’t know.


• Spring. The beauty of spring in Portland, and all the Pacific Northwest, is a life saver. I am appreciating it every day. Flowers, while their evolutionary purpose is to reproduce the next generation, are such a symbol of hope. I keep looking at them and feeling grateful.


• Quote. For no particular reason, let me share with you with this Akira Kurosawa quote that captures me pretty well: "I am not especially strong. I am not especially gifted. I simply do not like to show my weakness and I hate to lose, so I am a person who tries hard. That is all there is to me."



Happy Friday everyone! Happy weekend eve!