Update!

So, the news of Renee:

1. Getting stitches out tomorr--oh, yeah--later today. This is good!
2. I finished Kingmakers. Watch for my review of this book club selection.
3. I'm on the LAST chapter of my Accounting book, which I hope to complete, uh, later today.
4. In the last week, I've been contacted by two Accounting placement agencies. They found my resume on Monster.com. A little clue that perhaps I should have posted my res on Monster first, you think?
5. I've found the joys of Freecycle. This is a forum in which you give stuff away (ie, free). Areas/neighborhoods/cities have their own "branch," for example, Arlington, Virginia has its own site that's for people who live in Arlington. You wouldn't believe the stuff that's offered. It can be real random stuff (eg, unopened cans of Similac, fabric swatches, left-over cleaning products, etc.) - maybe stuff that one really can't sell, wants to get rid of, yet doesn't want to throw out. Or stuff that might sell, but you just don't have the time/patience to go the Craig's List route. You send an OFFER email to the listserv, then interested parties contact you directly to arrange pickup (they have to pick up the item(s) from you). It's actually karmic & keeps stuff out of the waste stream. So far, I've had really positive experiences.

Progress Report

Ok people, here's my progress (re everything):

1. Got my foot surgery done on Friday & am recoop'ing fine. Many thanks to all (drs nurses, staff) who made the thing go as smoothly, comfortably and painless as possible. Honorable mention to Rachel, the RN who did my IV insertion - the insertion was pain-free, expertly done and the resulting mark is tiny. It's an art. Loved the efficiency of the whole process (surgery, from prep to finish), prep info calls & reminders, the warmed blankets provided before & during the procedure and the hot tea in post-op.

Further thanks to all who have called, emailed, Facebooked good wishes for my recovery.

Number one thanks to my DH Jeff who shepherded me home, has been great moral support & ordered pizza for lunch yesterday (he'd get that last one). Super luv!

2. I'm starting chapter 25 in my Accounting book. After that, only one more chapter!

3. I'm on p162 of Kingmakers, a book club selection that is rather challenging - Middle East history with all the dizzying number of players involved. I march on.

4. Was contacted by an Accounting placement firm earlier this week (after they saw my resume on Monster.com - yeah!) & had a chance to meet with them. This is a hopeful development. Also, it was nice to be contacted by an actual human being, instead of an auto-generated email response. Wish me luck that something comes up.

5. I'm in a very good mood. Not really a novel development, but helps immeasurable with my energy levels.

That's all for now folks.

The scoop

Well, gentle readers, here's what I've been up to:

- Finished shredding all old receipts and unnecessary documents and filing all the needful;

- DH Jeff & I re-org'd the "workroom" for aesthetics and better space usage. It looks SO much better now. Then,

- I tackled the closet...and continue to tackle it. I re'org'd all our clothes & shoes and am now trying to decide what to give away or throw out. And I keep finding more things. Gaack. This weekend, I will finish off that task.

- Perhaps this weekend I can also find time to finally give myself a pedicure, and

- Finish a book for a book club on the 29th, and

- Catch up on my book & movie reviews. And other blogging.

Who said I would have so much free time once I finished with school?

Also, I'm trying to lose ten pounds. That's it. Unfortunately, I love libations and victuals a bit too much. Well, I decided that I probably could shave off a few hundred calories by not drinking alcohol every day of the week. So, it's kind of one day on, one day off and on off days, I just drink water with dinner. No real progress yet, but I haven't gained any weight.

A few weekends ago, we went with a friend to her mountain home (Blue Ridge) to chill and went wine tasting. Lots of fun! I took lots of pictures, some of which I'll share with you soon.

Oh, and I joined Netflix. I figure, I can check out all the movies I want & then MAYBE buy ones with bona fide replay value. The plan I signed up for (after the free 2-wk trial) is $8.99 per month for one movie at a time, but unlimited rentals within the month. I just got The Kite Runner. I think this will be a good deal and I can save some money without foregoing entertainment.

And I need to replace the photo of me on this blog, because my hair is longer now.

Whew!

A bit of grousing

So, maybe I shouldn’t be complaining or feeling frustrated so soon after starting up this book club thing again…maybe I should just give it some time, but…

Besides those folks who were SO interested in joining a book club, yet aren’t going to show again…or haven’t communicated at all after the initial burst of enthusiasm…besides those folks who cancel at the last minute and give lame excuses…I have a new favorite “member”: the ones who won’t be attending this Sunday because of Super Bowl. Over half of the members have not even confirmed whether or not they’ll be attending – and I bet when I pull teeth yet again, they’ll tell me they have to go to a Super Bowl party and can’t make it.

You know, it’s not like coordinating this damned Book Club takes any time, effort or money…it’s not like I have anything better to do (work, school, etc.)…it’s not like we’ve consciously tried to make membership as completely easy as possible…as cheap as possible…as democratic as possible. What exactly are we doing wrong? Do we have to canvass the group to make sure there aren’t any exciting sporting events (mind you, watching – not playing), stubbed toes, sock-drawer-organizing emergencies that might derail meeting-attendance?

Hit a nerve? Good. I’m feeling very frustrated with the lack of buy-in of these “members.” If you just want to read books and not meet – then do so. But don’t act like you really want to be in a book club – which suggests, get this, that you actually SHOW UP for discussions. It’s once a month, for gosh sakes!

Whatever, tomorrow I’ll send out another email to those who haven’t responded (pulling teeth) and see what happens.

Technorati topics: manners, book club

Where in the world...?

Sadly, I have not been posting much & one might wonder what's the problem. Well, here's what's been up in my world:

- Biology class demands. Tomorrow's the first exam and Monday at lab was first lab quiz (one every week). That said, I like the prof (really a together, organized sort) & we got to look at stuff under the microscope in lab, including this tiny water insect that was wonder what happened to his aquatic world.

- Honors! Speaking of school, I've been nominated for an honor society at Marymount. Not my first in general, but my first there. Figures, though, that the only recognition I get is the kind I have to pay for.

- Work. Did I mention I've been working so hard, that I get home completely exhausted every day? Not to mention the dreary, chilly weather we've been having lately.

- Book Club? We've put it on hiatus because of lack of interest. Evidently to most, book club is something you drop by on when you have nothing better to do. Otherwise, no communication. Very frustrating to those of us who make an effort and actually host the thing! A few stalwarts, though, & we plan on recruiting others & hopefully opening up shop again in a few months.

- Exercise. This week isn't a good example, but I've been trying to work out regularly to get rid of this sludge around my middle and thighs. You probably wouldn't notice it, but that's irrelevant. I get to have my obsessions if I want.

- Socializing! Hah! Yes, actually going out with friends and family! And yes, I'd rather be doing that than carving out the time to blog. Sad, my lack of commitment. Ah, but mental healthy-speaking, a vast improvement over (specifically my) anti-social attitudes of the past.

Ok, enough for now. More soon, I promise! Rants galore! Harsh language and sentiments!

On Manners...

...like this seems to be a hard concept for the Washington crowd to grasp. Case in point, we're (Jeff & I) trying to revitalize, along with a friend, our book club. And it's been an effort to attract people to come, but we seemed to be enjoying modest success as of late. And then, this time around, I sent a followup email to remind members of the date and time & to confirm if they were going to show. Well, I got one "oops, I'm flying in after it's already started, so I'm bagging," one who (at least) let me know ahead of time, one person I actually had to send another email to get a response, and a whole slew of others who have never even bothered to respond, period. Now, Jeff & I have hosted the last few times & our friend has volunteered for the next time. So, no worries about the meeting place (um, we couldn't be easier to get to - across the street from the metro, hello?). I've taken on the role of "club secretary" & dessiminate the information each month. The burden on members is essentially 1) let me know if you're coming (ie, indicate interest), 2) buy or borrow the modestly priced (usually around $10) book, 3) read it, 4) show up with some token food or beverage and 5) enjoy a pleasant discussion about the book while enjoying food and drink (most of which we provide). Boy, doesn't that sound taxing! You'd think we were asking for Dom Perignon and their first born.

Friends, I've tired of making effort and not having people do even the minimum courtesy of responding to emails. I've tired of this Washington (although I'm sure it's nation-wide) "college" (reads "kegger") attitude towards socializing. As in, if I don't have anything better to do, then I'll just show up. Oh, but I'll have something else scheduled that evening afterwards, so I'll keep my cell phone on and take calls during the meeting. And it'll be a huge imposition for me to bring some damn crackers, so, I'll buy some crap that no one likes to let you know that I resent having to bring anything besides my sparkling wit. Even though I'll drink your wine, eat your bread, cheese, olives, etc. Clearly, few parents are even bothering to teach basic manners anymore. Few people have any class of any kind any more. Of course, in our ever coarsening society, that's not really valued now is it?

I mean hey, our last book club (some members, any way), unceremoniously dumped us and evidently started their own little group. Mind you, they didn't convey this to us directly, we were just supposed to "catch on." I'm sure they considered their little maneuver totally acceptable behavior.

You know, I used to be careless about responding to invites, and then one day it occurred to me that people didn't have to invite me anywhere, at all - and that I should stop being a rude little infant. Clearly, many in this city haven't even gotten to that point of realization or ever will.