Relationship Achievement Awards

It's hard to find a guy who won't sulk when you beat him at Halo (considering it happens to rarely that i'm still dancing about it after i've lost the NEXT match). Who brags to his friends that you play video games WITH him. Who doesn't get mad when you throw a plasma grenade at the guy he's fighting which subsequently blows both him and the adversary up. And is very supportive of all the silly things you come up with.

We are a bit geeky. And i love being with a guy compliments my geekey-ness.

I found some custom xbox 360 achievements over at Assassionista's blog and couldn't resist. I yoinked the idea and sent these and some others to Boyfriend Jon:

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as i enjoyed coming up with them. There's a story behind all of these but that would make this a much too long post.

Co-workers

This week has been filled with troubles with co-workers. We all work long hours, we're around each other for 10 hours a day. Obviously, Friday is too slow in coming to give us a break. As an admin who has to help everyone...especially if it includes the cursed printer...i make a point of being nice to everyone until they give me a reason not to be. And even then i'll be cold, but still professional. But this week, I'm tired and fed up with some of the ridiculous antics.

You could have fooled me that i work with adults who are capable of courtesy, respect and honesty. Because if i didn't know better, i'd say i worked with 13 year olds complete with cliques, nasty comments, superiority complexes, and backstabbing for no apparent reason.

Point in case, my cubicle neighbor. She monitors my comings and goings and makes a point of looking at her watch when i'm a couple minutes late. (I should note that our company is not a "TO THE MINUTE" company. We're expected to come in and leave around the set times and work 40 hours. If we're going to be really late, we need to let our boss know) If i'm early she comes to my desk and asks in a super surprised voice "What are you doing here so early?" She has taken everything I've gotten (like rotating my desk so she can't look at my screen all the time) as a personal affront that i'm getting special treatment. The truth is, i ask for something, give solid, business related reasons why, and my boss usually agrees to it. What a novel idea. I've talked to my boss and she's been reprimanded twice for this behavior. Most of the time, I can ignore her and give her non-committal answers to her snarkyness or kill her with kindness. But today, i'm so fed up that my mind is plotting exceedingly evil things.

Second point in case: I am not a servant who doesn't deserve Please or Thank You. Sending me an email which states: "The printer needs a new cartridge" will NEVER in a million years get the same response as someone walking up to me and saying "Can you please help me and change the cartridge, i'm not sure how." One of those responses will get me up and out of my chair that very second with a smile and a "no problem". The other will get a much slower response. Oh i'll do it, but it might take me 10 minutes. I made a point of letting the second person know their kindness was appreciated.

And last but not not least. I may be one of the youngest people in the entire building but that does not mean i'll tolerate being treated like you're my mother. Unless your job description has changed recently, you are not my monitor, my snitch, and certainly not allowed to PATRONIZE ME. Don't say "you did such a good job last time, i think you should be responsible for this HUGE task that we both worked on last time while i wash my hands of it." You don't delegate to me. That is not a privilege you have either earned or deserve.

Friday can't come fast enough this week. I'm so done with dealing with certain co-workers.

Other co-workers on the other hand have been great at making me laugh and get through some of this nonsense with a sense of humor.

The mountain of clothes

Somehow, i forgot that i absolutely HATE folding clothes. In my haste to get my apartment looking awesome again, i decided that the shelves in my closet needed to be cleared out and everything re-done. I just happened to forget that this meant a lot of folding.

Now there is a HUGE pile of clean clothes strewn over about 1/4 of my living room. I can feel it watching me when i call friends after work to see if they want to hang out. Its "eyes" bore into my back when i decide to eat out instead of in. It calls to me as i put my hand on the doorknob to flee. "Annnneee...you forgot something..."

And i'm even dreaming about LAUNDRY. Nay, having nightmares about it.

Maybe i shouldn't play anymore and do battle with the PILE!

ON GUARD!

The Apartment Re-Do

One of these days i'll get the hang of relaxing instead of working on the weekend. My arm muscles sure wish i would since they're protesting even the amount of moving needed for typing.

This weekend was the big re-do of my apartment. I have been sick to death of not being organized and having no where to put all the random stuff. My family has decided to do a garage sale next month and it's lighting a fire under me to get RID of everything in my house that i never use and have no idea what i was thinking when i got it.

Friday, I brought home the new headboard and went shopping at Walmart for new organizing stuff. Boyfriend Jon (aka sweetest boyfriend in the world) agreed to come over after he got off of work to help me put the bed together. I spent the remaining time covering paper ream boxes with contact paper. This ended up being so easy and the final product was awesome. They're still a little plain, but they look great and i can spruce them up anytime. Starting with making labels for them that aren't made out of post it notes.

Saturday, we finally took down my hanging bookshelf to make room for the much taller headboard and as soon as we put it in place, we started noticing something. It looked really high. I was undaunted, since i was certain that i had done my math correctly. Original 9 inch legs, plus ten inches of lift, plus an additional 10 inches for the mattress would just a little bit taller than my old bed had been (28 inches).

We pounded the stilts into place with my motorcycle boot for lack of a sturdy rubber mallet and then we put the frame together. Finally the mattress went on and Boyfriend Jon gave me a dubious look. It was REALLY tall. So we pulled out the tape measures. 32 3/4 inches tall. i was BAFFLED. How the heck did i mess that up? And then i realized, the ledge that the slats for the mattress to sit on is not the same as the bottom of the board. I totally missed it in my measurements. So after i kicked myself and called my dad to see what i should do. An hour later, Boyfriend Jon was holding on while i used a saws-all to lop off 3.5 inches from the bottom of the stilts. So much for my tricky foot cap that i made.

In the end, the bed looks awesome...maybe not against my Ikea nightstand and my filing cabinet/second nightstand. But it's getting there. Pretty soon i'll have some kind of theme in my bedroom.

Apparently however, my brain was not done working for the weekend. Because as soon as the bed was done, i was attacking the mess while Boyfriend Jon beat a wise and hasty retreat. I returned the storage bins i had bought on Friday and purchased ones of the right size since the stilt shrinkage. I also bought (and would end up returning and re-buying) drawers for my bathroom cabinet to organize there too. I spirited away all the winter coats, sweaters, and bulky linens that were piled high in the corners. I corralled all the miscellaneous items that had been underfoot for months. I sectioned off the living room into "Keep", "Trash", "Garage Sale", and "Clothes" and began depositing items accordingly. I couldn't walk through my kitchen due to the laundry basket of books and my bookcase. I even went through my pants, trying each one on to figure out which ones fit now and which ones had the promise of fitting without drastic weight loss.

I still have a mountain of clothes that need to be gone through and re-folded...my least favorite task, but at least I found several summer clothes i thought had mistakenly been donated. WIN!

When the dust settles in the next few days, i hope to have a clean and organized...and able to be kept that way, apartment.

Table Before and After Pics

It's official. My sister an I moved the coffee and end tables as well as most of the bed frame into my apartment and moved my old stuff out. This means i have some room to move around again because the dining room table and chairs were shipped out too.

I've often expressed my LOATHING for particle board, but i must say, my old coffee and end tables have held up extremely well considering they survived my sister's entire college experience...10 years between and then my entire college experience, plus a few years since. It's been dinged, scratched, spilled upon, stained, and the legs have to be regularly tightened so they don't fall off....but over all it's still a sturdy great piece. Hopefully i'll be able to get some money for it at the garage sale.

Anyway...the long awaited before and after pics!
Before....

AFTER!!!!!

Do you hear the hallelujah chorus? I do.
Although this means i have to clean up my apartment from the disaster it is when i threw everything that was on top of the old tables.

The new headboard is still hanging out at my parents place where the last coats of varnish are curing. When that's done, i'll move it over and set up my bedroom. I'm sorry that i don't have pictures. Every time i thought about taking pictures, my hands were covered with stain, varnish or paint. but here's the starting point. Just so you note: the height of the frame that the mattress sits in is 13 inches off the ground at the top.


Also on the project docket: Covering paper ream boxes with wallpaper or contact paper so that i can have a uniform storage boxes on the upper shelf in my closet. Most of the boxes and baskets up there are falling apart. When i priced buying some boxes...i was astounded at the price for 1. I'm figuring that for roughly the same price as buying one, to be able to make at least three. Also, i'm going to reinforce the edges and seams with duct tape first. Mine will be virtually indestructible!

I'm well on my way to re-organizing my home!

Thoughts on the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo remake (Dec 2011)

When i was still in high school, and drawing people constantly, I dreamed of becoming a forensic sketch artist. I started studying what makes faces look the way they do. How just a slight raise in the arch of an eyebrow can change a person from looking sweet to haughty. How mouths that naturally downturn make people seem unhappy when actually just relaxed. And how people who have the crease between their eyebrows look angry even when their minds are just far away.

None of that dream was ever meant to be, but i still notice those details especially when comparing people.

I just watched the trailer for the American remake of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.

Even despite a dramatic and harsh haircut and dye job...i just don't buy her as a misanthrope, cold and calculated hacker. I just don't. Some people's faces are naturally gentler and less edgy...and hers is one of them. They can put all the dark and overly dramatic makeup on her they want, but it's still a softer person inside than the character Lisbeth Salandar is described as.

Even if you take away all the makeup and get them with similar expressions....Rooney Mara seems softer and more sweet where Noomi (star of the Swedish films) has a more edgy, harder look. Personally i think it's in the tilt of the eyebrows. Noomi's tilt in towards her nose, where Rooney's are start higher and further out. Just that makes the difference for me.








Now...if Boyfriend Jon would finish reading the books so we can watch the movies and then i can talk about them without inadvertently spoiling them.....GRRRR....i could go off for several pages about what i liked, didn't like, and what they left out of the movies that a) would have made a lot more sense and b) were HUGE parts of the storyline and character development that they just completely omitted!

Going to work to relax

Normally, weekends are reserved for resting. However i spent the entire weekend (except for the evenings watching movies with Boyfriend Jon while he rubbed my aching feet) working like a nutcase.

Friday, i spent putting the second coat on the end/coffee tables which really look good, and making the cuts for the stilts for the bed. It was slow but progressive. I had to keep reminding myself that i have the knowledge and skills to do the stilts without my dad. That waiting was not an option and that my methods were the right way to do this project. It's silly, but when you've spent over 20 years doing every single project with your dad by your side...it's difficult to maintain confidence when doing a completely new project. Especially in the early stages when there's so much planning, and measuring and figuring out how much wood to cut that you can get easily confused. But I stuck with it and churned out the cuts. Afterwards, I went over to Jon's and fell asleep early.

Saturday, i mitered all the edges (cut them at a 45 degree angle) and glued them up. Dad has always told me never to use the air gun alone, but since no one was around and it was only noon on Saturday, i couldn't let the rest of the day go to waste. I got lucky on three separate occasions where the nail decided to bend dramatically and shoot out of the board where it wasn't supposed to.....right next to my fingers. It was unnerving to say the least, but i steeled myself and pushed through. By dinner time, they were done and i had filled the holes with wood putty. I left around 7 after putting a third and final coat on the tops of my end tables which looked spectacular.

That night, Boyfriend Jon and I snuggled up to watch the 1980 version of Flash Gorden, a super super cheesy space opera with music by Queen and starring Topol (the father from Fiddler on the Roof), Timothy Dalton (Did a few of the Bond Movies) and a couple others who were big before i was alive. Jon hadn't seen it before and i had grown up with it. But it was hilarious to see just how cheesy it got in some places. Things you don't really remember as a kid now have more dual-meaning and more hand-over-the-mouth understanding. If you haven't seen it before, it's worth at least one watch. It's so bad that it's good.

Sunday, I spent working with my sister, helping her put up molding in her living room and entry area. When we were done, we were high fiving and bragging about how even dad couldn't have done a better job on some of the non-45 degree angles we had figured out by ourselves. Then i got some brown paint for the bed frame and went to attach the paneling to the back of the headboard. My sister joined me shortly there-after to help with the painting of the stilts and the frame. I worked until 7:30 that night before my feet and back were loudly protesting.

Boyfriend Jon took sweetness to a new level, specially making me some pot stickers and serving me while i sat at his table, kind of glazed over and covered in sawdust and paint flecks. He then put on a movie called "The Air Up There" with Kevin Bacon as a Basketball scout who goes to Africa to find a giant he saw by accident but has major promise as an NBA star. But the kid won't leave because of his tribe, so Kevin's character Jimmy...starts trying to influence him to leave by doing everything the way the natives do. As you may have guessed....hilarity ensues.

And for most of the movie...Boyfriend Jon rubbed my aching feet.
I. Am. So. Unbelievably. Lucky. <3

The Project List keeps growing

Yesterday was very productive. Right after work, headed straight for Bed Bath and Beyond to get a mattress pad and a set of sheets that will fit my new mattress. When i got there, i started looking through the mattress pads, and just getting confused. Suddenly i hear this overly happy car salesman like voice behind me. I turned around the the regional manager was standing there offering to help me find what i was looking for.

"Well hi there miss! Can i help you find anything in particular?" he said with a politicians smile.
"Um sure. I need a mattress pad that's waterproof but doesn't crinkle or make noise when i move around on it." i said
"oh well those cheap ones won't do what you're looking for. You're going to want one of these 80 dollar pads!" he said directing me to a different section.My heart sank as he said this cause i was looking for the cheapest option that would do the job and i was already agonizing over the 50$ one i had been looking at. Then i noticed the yellow tag above the display: 50% off! I pointed it out and his politicians smile faltered for a second and then he recovered by saying "See, it was meant to be". He offered to get me a cart and then stayed by my elbow  asking if there was anything else i needed today.

I made the mistake of mentioning that i was going to color match my comforter and he wanted to come along and show me where i could find the sheets...as if the section was invisible or guarded by an ogre or something. Now, I am not a passive person by nature, but before i had a chance to tell him i would be fine, he thrust a display pillow case into my hands and started telling me about what thread count really meant. The sheets were wonderful and i could feel the high quality smoothness of the fabric. I asked him how much, and he looked at the price tag. "59.99!" he said. Elation washed over me before the skeptic in me became curious. That's when i noticed that the package said Fitted Sheet. Next to it was the Flat Sheet package, and i quickly realized that it was 59.99 EACH.
I told the manager that it was way out of my price range as far as a set was concerned, and told him, that would be a reasonable price if it was a set already. He then scratched his head and looked around dubiously. So i walked away down the isle, looking at the options myself. Eventually I found a pale blueish green sheet set that worked with my comforter and was the same price. But my luck was running as high as could be. It was 20 % off already and i had an two additional 20% off coupons.

When i left the store, I had a total of 62$ in savings. I made out like a bandit.

Last night i finally put the first coat of varnish on my end tables and coffee table. It took me 3 hours. I went into my obsessive mode where i didn't even notice that i hadn't eaten yet, or that it was getting dark out. I just kept working, plugging away, making sure i did a good job for the first coat. Thankfully this will be the only coat for the interior where it only matters that it gets sealed, not necessarily looks pretty and shiny. Putting on the remaining coats for the outside will take a lot less time.

But i apparently haven't kicked my building bug. Cause as soon as i'm done with this, i have the bed frame to alter and refinish...and then i have another plan brewing in my head. Given that my bedroom is the only place i haven't built custom furniture and i'm still using bleh...particle board dresser....the carpentry wheels in my head are turning again.

Puppies, Logistics and Craigslist

This being my first week back, I've been all but dragging myself to work, and trying my darnedest to stay focused and not grumbling about certain (numerous) reasons why i would rather be anywhere else than at work. I haven't gotten back into my usual routine, and the hours at work creep by like slugs.

That was until yesterday morning. I rounded the corner and saw one of my co-workers crouched on the floor playing with a black ball of fluff. Upon closer inspection it was a 14 week old shi tzu puppy named Max. Suddenly, all of my headaches, frustrations, and homicidal thoughts disappeared in the presence of puppy kisses.

It's not wise to upset a Wookie.
Now give me back my chew toy!

Things got even better when the owner needed a quick pet-sitter while she went to a meeting. I was only too happy to fulfill that temporary addition to my job description. Max got a blanket on the side of my desk where he could chew on  me his toys and investigate the tapping of my keys while i still worked. Eventually, he ended up dozing off with a paw draped over my arm. Unintelligible noises of adoration escaped me despite my best efforts.

I'm not usually a fan of small dogs. They have to be unreasonably cute and amusing for me to fall in love with them. This excludes chihuahuas, pugs and miniature dobermins. Those just arent' cute to me with their bug eyes. Shi tzus look so much like Ewoks that i can't help myself. If i ever got a shi tzu (one of the few small dogs i would consider owning) it would totally be named Wicket. But for now i'm having fun with Max.

I want a puppy so badly now. Of course i don't live a lifestyle that could support owning a dog, but it doesn't dampen the desire in the least.
***
So last Saturday, i bought a mattress. A new, queen size, which i was able to lay upon  first instead of dad just bringing it home and telling me this is my new mattress. It was all my choice, and i'm thrilled with it.

Except....

I still had my old full size mattress, old box spring, frame and headboard in the way. And in a 1 bedroom apartment, that doesn't leave much room for maneuverability. So since last Saturday, the new mattress has been up against a wall, while I've continued to sleep on the old mattress, which doesn't feel nearly as comfortable as i remember.

After contacting some of the "wanted" ads on craigslist, and getting tired of their flaking...i posted it and had immediate responses. One of them was even local, and several promised that they could pick up the next day. With any luck, that old mattress will be gone tonight and i can at least put my new mattress on the floor until i finish altering the new frame.

Ever since i worked for a personal organizer, I've always felt that box springs were a waste of space. I wondered why beds didn't just raise up higher and have built in support for the mattresses. At the time, however, i didn't have much of an option. But i do now.

Lindsey's old frame is an Ikea build, with slats. So no box spring needed! Happy day! Now i just have to get around to adding the wood stilts so that it's not sitting 9 inches off the ground....because it's Ikea. When i'm done, it should be sitting 18-22 inches off the ground. I'm so excited to have all that new storage space. I'll finally be able to get plastic bins for my winter clothes instead of massing them together in garbage bags stacked precariously in the back of my closet.

Meanwhile, i tiptoe carefully through my apartment which looks like i just moved in...again.

Post San Fran Adventures

San Francisco was a whirlwind. It was going going gone. There was so much to see and so little time to see it. And yet i'm still not tired of the place. I would gladly go back again.

But nothing slowed down when i returned either. Friday was spent unpacking, cleaning and getting back to working on the end tables. They are so close! I began to iron on the edging for my tables so that you wouldn't be able to tell that i used plywood at first glance.

This took the remainder of Friday, and part of the day Saturday.

On Saturday, i also went and got my very first queen size mattress! Lindsey was getting a new frame anyway, so she gave it to me. But now i'm left with the problem of being in a 1 bedroom apartment with a double mattress and box spring AND a queen size mattress. I'm seriously lacking on extra room. With the bed bug scares, most mattress recycling places aren't taking them anymore without you having to pay them. So I'm turning to Craigslist to see if i can help someone out. I might have connected with someone, but given that it's craigslist...i wont' count my chickens before they hatch.

On Sunday, with all the glorious sunshine in the Pacific Northwest, i pulled out the wood stain and got to work.

With any luck, the tables and legs will be ready for the first finish coat tomorrow at the latest. Yay!

And the dogs missed me so much, they wouldn't leave my side all day: Yes the Wallet Thief fell asleep in that position and was snoring loudly. These dogs are soo good for entertainment value.

The return from San Francisco

Of all the places i've visited, San Francisco is one of the few places where i think i could stand to live for a long period of time. Of course,  i know that i would pay through the nose for real-estate there, but when you're dreaming, such things don't matter. We did so much in such a short time, that i'll have to gloss over a lot of the interesting stuff just to give you a brief account. Yes, the following is brief. 

We arrived and were bussed to the Argonaut hotel right off of the end of Hyde street and Jefferson Street which was beautiful and spacious. The first thing we did was walk to Pier 39, enjoying the sights along the way and purchasing some trinkets. We signed up for one of the two hour long bus tours which our guide, Igor, told us all about everything from the new capital buildings ability to withstand a major earthquake, to how there are so many large families living in chinatown that they have to hang their undergarments out the window for them to dry. We saw the Golden Gate gardens and the bridge, took a lot of pictures, and finally got back to our hotel in time to change for dinner at Scomas on the waterfront a couple piers away.

This place was fancy! We had no less than a 5 course meal (six if you count the sourdough bread) which included the best Crab cakes I've had in California, Popcorn Shrimp that was juicy and crunchy at the same time, a salad or soup, an entrée (i had Pasa Alla Scoma- clams and pasta in a white wine garlic sauce- which had no less than 30 clams IN the Shell mixed in with my pasta) and finally a chocolate torte for desert, followed by a round of B52 shots to celebrate the end of their busy season. I am so glad that i wasn't footing the bill for that meal. But it was delicious. After that, i was beat so i went back and gratefully fell into my own queen size bed (which was exciting because i just bought a new queen size to upgrade from my double, so i got a bit of a preview). Lindsey went out to a Blues bar, Lou's on Pier 47, with some of her co-workers had a wonderful time.

The next day, we made our way to Alcatraz. The walk over to Pier 33 was wet, especially as we were waiting for our tickets. Someone turned on a fire hose, so since i had not gotten an umbrella when there was an opportunity, i got soaked, and ended up with one of the very fashionable plastic ponchos. However, once we loaded into the ferry and landed at Alcatraz, it was bright and sunny for the rest of the day. San Francisco might be the only city I've ever gotten both drenched and a sunburn in the same day. I loved Alcatraz. Between the audio tour, and latching onto a ranger tour, i learned things i had no idea bout before and found the prisoner's ingenuity completely intriguing. If you get a chance...it's worth every penny.

When we got back to the mainland, we ate at Bubba Gump's and then toured the area some more before i needed a break and went back to the hotel for a quick nap. Afterwards, we walked around the area some more and enjoyed some of the bread. I don't like sourdough, but the sourdough in San Francisco is to die for! I even took a loaf home. We went to bed comparatively early that night.

I woke up to the sounds of fog horns, and went outside to watch some of the fog burn off. After i met back up with Lindsey, we made our way to Girhidelli Square, had brunch at Buena Visa Cafe and toured the USS Pampanito Submarine. Then it was time to leave San Francisco which was sad.

San Francisco left (we stayed in the light gray building on the left which is marked with Blue Mermaid)

San Fransisco right. Featuring Pier 39 and the Alcatraz landing

I wish i had more pictures to share with you, but they're on my camera which is still buried in the pile of put away/take care of that I've been ignoring for the weekend in favor of California weather which we seem to have brought home. Since so much else has happened since I returned, i'll save my post trip adventures for another post.